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to  t^e  feifirari?  of 
(Princeton  ^^eofogicctf  ^eminarj 

BX  9177  .S647  1862 
Smith,  John,  1769-1874. 
Letters  of  the  Rev.  John 
/     Smith 


OFhH: 


LETTER 


FEB  281912 


iGAL 


r;^^ 


OP 


THE  REV.  JOHN  SMITH, 


A  PRESBYTERIAN   MINISTER, 


TO  HIS  BROTHER, 


THE  REV.  PETER  SMITH, 


A  METHODIST   PREACHER. 


PHILADELPHIA: 

J.   B.   LIPPINCOTT    &    CO. 
1862. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1862,  by 

J.  B.  LIPPINCOTT  &  CO., 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the 

Eastern  District  of  Pennsylvania. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

Letter  1 5 

Letter  II 8 

Letter  III , 11 

Letter  IV 16 

Letter  V 19 

Letter  VI 25 

Letter  VII 32 

Letter  VIII 34 

Letter  IX 42 

Letter  X 47 

Letter  XI 55 

Letter  XII 61 

Letter  XIII 68 

Letter  XIV 71 

Letter  XV 78 

Letter  XVI 84 

Letter  XVII 87 

Letter  XVIII 89 

Letter  XIX 97 


IV  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

Letter  XX 103 

Letter  XXI 110 

Letter  XXII.... 117 

Letter  XXIII 124 

Letter  XXIV 131 

Letter  XXV 136 

Letter  XXVI 141 

Letter  XXVII 146 

Letter  XXVIII 149 

Letter  XXIX 153 

Letter  XXX 158 

Letter  XXXI 164 

Letter  XXXII 172 

Letter  XXXIII 176 

Letter  XXXIV 184 


LETTERS 


JOHN  SMITH  TO  PETER  SMITH. 


LETTER     I. 

introduction. 

Dear  Brother : — 

It  is  my  purpose  to  write  for  the  press  a 
series  of  plain  letters  addressed  to  jou,  of  which 
this  is  the  first.  You  are  an  Arminian,  I  am  a 
Calvlnist.  We  cannot  both  be  right ;  and  as 
one  or  the  other  must  be  in  the  wrong,  you  will 
not  think  it  strange  that  I  assume  the  wrong  to 
be  on  your  side.  I  propose  in  these  letters 
to  point  out  the  errors  and  inconsistencies  of 
Arminianism ;  but  I  trust  that  it  is  as  far  be- 
neath my  dignity  to  write  in  the  style  of  abuse, 
as  it  could  be  beneath  your  dignity  to  read  such 
a  style  with  patience.  The  great  denomination 
2  (5) 


6  INTRODUCTION. 

to  which  you  belong,  we  Presbyterians  rejoice 
to  recognize  as  one  of  the  leading  branches  of 
the  church  of  Christ,  and  I,  for  one,  do  not  find 
it  in  my  heart  to  treat  her  with  abuse.  We 
have  between  us  a  common  Christianity,  in 
whose  defense  we  can  stand  side  by  side  ;  and 
shoulder  to  shoulder,  we  can  press  forward  to 
the  attack  of  the  common  foe.  We  have  a  com- 
mon Saviour,  who  is  precious  alike  to  you  and 
to  us.  As  we  ought  not  to  be  objects  of  fierce 
attack  by  you,  you  ought  not  to  be  objects  of 
fierce  attack  by  us ;  and  you  certainly  shall  not 
be  by  me. 

We  cannot,  however,  both  be  in  the  right. 
To  us  it  is  quite  clear  that  your  church,  while 
she  holds  to  the  great  essentials,  ignores  some 
important  principles  of  religion.  The  gospel, 
which  you  and  your  brethren  preach,  is  not,  in- 
deed, another  gospel ;  the  elements  of  salvation 
are  there,  but,  as  it  strikes  us,  these  elements 
are  strangely  mixed  and  compounded  with  hu- 
man devices  and  human  errors.  It  has  always 
seemed  to  us  that  the  Christian  warrior,  clad  in 
the  panoply  of  Methodist-Arminianism,  fights 
at  manifest  disadvantage.  The  armor  appears 
scant  and  defective.  Pardon  me,  brother,  but 
either  we   have   too   much,   or   you   have   not 


INTRODUCTION.  7 

enough.  The  Arminiaii  helmet  of  salvation 
may  do  for  you,  but  it  would  hardly  cover  our 
defenseless  heads.  Your  shield  of  faith  may  be 
sufficient  for  your  purpose,  but  it  is  not  large 
enough  ;  its  texture  is  not  firm  enough  to  ward 
off  all  the  fiery  darts  of  our  adversaries.  The 
sword,  which  you  wield,  is  doubtless  the  sword 
of  the  Spirit ;  but  the  edge  is  too  often  turned 
and  blunted  by  unfortunate  strokes,  against 
what  you  denominate  the  errors  of  Calvinism, 
but  what  are  in  reality  the  adamantine  truths 
of  God's  eternal  word.  To  point  out  these  de- 
fects, to  set  forth  the  inconsistencies  and  con- 
tradictions in  your  system  of  theology,  and  to 
lead  the  reader  from  the  Arminian  form  of 
Christianity  to  the  purer  and  more  perfect  re- 
ligion of  the  Bible,  is  the  task  I  propose  to  my- 
self in  the  composition  of  the  following  letters. 

John  Smith. 


IRON   AND   CLAY. 


LETTER    II, 


Dear  Brother: — 

The  doctrinal  system  of  the  Arminian  Meth- 
odists often  reminds  me  of  the  image  which 
Nebuchadnezzar,  King  of  Babylon,  saw  iu  vis- 
ion. While  the  head,  the  arms,  the  body,  and 
the  legs  were  each  of  solid  metal,  of  gold  and 
silver,  and  brass  and  iron,  the  feet  and  toes  had 
this  strange  peculiarity,  they  were  partly  of 
iron  and  partly  of  potter's  clay.  The  composi- 
tion of  those  feet  and  toes  strikes  me  as  a 
capital  representation  of  Arminianism,  which 
has  at  once  the  iron  strength  of  truth,  and  the 
crumbling  incoherence  of  error.  The  great 
fundamental  truths  of  the  gospel  are  there. 
The  fall  of  man,  the  Divinity  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  His  sacrificial  offering,  the  regeneration 
of  the  sinner  by  the  Holy  Spirit, — these  are  all 
there.  But,  unfortunately,  with  every  one  of 
these  great  scriptural  truths  are  mingled  errors 
more  or  less  serious  ;  some  of  them  quite  spe- 
cious, others  quite  absurd.  Let  me  now,  my 
brother,  point  out  to  you  the  proportions  of 
the  iron  and  the  clay  of  which  your  theological 


IRON    AND   CLAY.  9 

system  is  made  up.  The  standards  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church  set  forth  the  following- 
doctrines  : — 

1st.   God  created  man  a  free  agent. 

This  is  iron. 
2d.  Adam  lost  his  free  agency  in  the  fall. 

This  is  clay. 
3d.  Through  grace  free  agency  was  restored 
to  Adam. 

Clay. 
4th.  Adam  was  constituted  the  federal  head 
and  representative  of  his  posterity. 
7ro77. 
5th.   The  human  race  were  involved  in  ruin 
by  their  federal  head  and  representative,  so  that 
death   temporal,   spiritual,   and    eternal   seized 
them  all. 

7?'0«. 
6th.    The  human  race  could  not  in  justice 
have  been  thus  involved  in  ruin,  had  not  God 
determined  to  send  His  Son  into  the  world  to 
counteract  the  evils  of  the  apostacy. 
Clay. 
Yth.  After  the  fall,  God,  as  a  just  Being,  was 
under  obligation  to  do  one  of  two  tilings  :  either 
to  cut  off  the  race  at  once  in  the  person  of 


10  IRON   AND    CLAY. 

Adam,  or  to  provide  a  Saviour  by  way  of  com- 
pensation to  the  lost  family  of  man. 
Miry  clay. 
8th.  In  the  infinitude  of  His  grace,  God  pro- 
vided a  Saviour,  the  second  Adam,  the  Lord 
from  Heaven,  to  redeem  wretched  sinners  from 
the  thraldom  of  sin  and  death. 
Solid  iron. 
9th.  But  if  God  had  not  sent  His  Son  to  re- 
deem the  world,  the  world  could  never  have 
been  called  to  account  for  transgression. 
Clay. 
10th.  Without  grace  sinners  cannot  repent 
and  turn  to  God. 
h^on. 
11th.  If  God  did  not  bestow  grace,  sinners 
would  not  be  under  obligation  to  repent  and 
turn  to  God. 
Clay. 
12th.   God  has  not  the  right  to  pass  by  any 
sinner  of  the  human  race.      He  has  not  the 
right  to  have  mercy  on  whom  He  will  have 
mercy,  nor  has  He  the  right  to  harden  whom 
He  will  harden. 

Potter^s  clay. 
Clay  enough,  surely  !     The  feet  and  toes  of 
Nebuchadnezzar's  image  could  hardly  have  had 


LOSS   OF   FREE    AGENCY.  11 

a  greater  proportion  of  it.  In  the  skillful 
hands,  however,  of  your  preachers  and  writers, 
the  iron  and  the  clay,  gospel  truth  and  human 
error,  are  so  attempered ;  the  angular  projections 
so  neatly  filed  away,  the  ugly  hollows  and  in- 
dentations so  nicely  filled  up,  that  the  mass 
comes  forth  a  system  smooth  and  rounded ; 
beautiful  to  look  upon,  but  great  care  to  be 
used  in  the  handling.  I  propose  to  try  a  few 
strokes  of  the  hammer  on  the  several  parts  of 
this  ingeniously  constructed  system,  and  should 
the  soft  clay  separate  and  fly  off  from  the  hard 
metal,  let  the  result  be  attributed  rather  to  the 
unlucky  combination  of  such  discordant  mate- 
rials, than  to  the  strength  or  skill  of  the  arm 
that  wields  the  implement. 

John  Smith. 


LETTER    III. 

Dear  Brother  : — 

The  Arminian  scheme,  I  said,  is  a  mixture 
of  truth  and  error,  of  gospel  truth  and  human 
error.  Christ  Jesus  the  true  Foundation  is  in- 
deed laid,  but  on  that  foundation  is  reared  no 


12  LOSS   OF    FREE   AGENCY. 

small  amount  of  the  wood,  hay,  and  stubble  of 
men's  devices.  Among  these  devices  are  two 
distinguished  by  their  singularity:  one,  that 
free  agency  was  lost  by  sin ;  the  other,  that  free 
agency  was  restored  by  grace.  "We  believe," 
say  the  Doctrinal  Tracts,  published  by  order  of 
the  General  Conference, — "we  believe,"  say  all 
the  preachers,  elders,  and  bishops  of  the  Method- 
ist Episcopal  Church, — "we  believe  that  in  the 
moment  Adam  fell  he  had  no  freedom  of  will 
left."  But  why  do  you  all  believe  so?  Is  it 
because  the  Bible  says  so  ?  Will  you  point  to  a 
single  passage  in  the  Old  or  New  Testament  where 
such  a  statement  is  made  ?  Or,  if  this  is  asking 
too  much,  will  you  at  least  name  some  passage 
from  which  such  an  inference  even  can  with  fair- 
ness be  drawn  ?  You  know  that  you  cannot.  You 
know,  my  good  brother,  that  we  are  all  free 
agents,  and  that  the  sacred  oracles  set  this  forth 
in  language  very  distinct  and  very  clear.  "Yes, 
we  are  all  free  agents,"  you  reply;  "but  free 
agency  was  restored  by  grace.  A  measure  of 
free  will,  say  the  Doctrinal  Tracts,  is  supernat- 
urally  given  to  all  men,  and  therefore  all  men 
are  now  responsible  agents."  This  is  odd 
enough.  But  where,  it  may  be  asked,  do  the 
Scriptures  teach  that  fallen  man  had  freedom  of 


LOSS   OF   FREE    AGENCY.  13 

will  restored  to  him  by  grace  ?  lu  the  same 
book,  chapter,  and  verse,  I  suppose,  where  it  is 
stated  that  he  lost  it !  It  would  be  a  curious 
subject  of  inquiry,  how  long  an  interval  there 
was  between  the  loss  and  the  restoration  of  the 
free  agency  of  the  first  man — between  the  point 
at  which  he  ceased  to  be  responsible  and  the 
point  where  he  again  was  clothed  with  responsi- 
bility. The  Doctrinal  Tracts,  unfortunately, 
throw  no  light  on  this  mystery.  Let  us,  how- 
ever, venture  to  suppose  it  to  have  been  the 
period  that  elapsed  from  the  instant  of  the  fall 
to  the  cool  of  the  evening,  when  the  voice  of  the 
Lord  God  walking  in  the  garden  was  heard 
calling  to  him,  "Where  art  thou?"  During 
this  space  of  time,  then,  the  father  of  the  human 
race  could  do  no  wrong,  according  to  the  Ar- 
minian  theory,  because  he  had  no  freedom  of 
will  left.  To  despise  the  glorious  Creator,  to 
shun  His  presence,  to  resist  His  mandates,  in- 
volved no  guilt!  If  Adam  was  finally  saved, 
the  acts  of  that  hour  needed  no  forgiveness;  if 
he  was  finally  lost,  the  sins  of  that  hour  could 
not  Ibe  punished.  True,  he  was  originally  en- 
dued with  all  the  faculties  requisite  to  secure 
accountability,  but  that  accountability  ceased  at 
the  moment  that  the  first  act  of  sin  was  perpe- 


14  ADAM   WITHOUT   GRACE. 

trated.  After  the  first  transgression  he  was  no 
longer  a  responsible  agent.  To  be  amenable  at 
the  bar  of  his  Judge,  he  must  have  an  adequate 
supply  of  grace,  and  that  supply  the  Judge 
himself  was  in  duty  bound  to  furnish.  Until 
that  gift,  the  gift  of  grace,  was  bestowed,  the 
new-born  rebel  might  have  it  all  his  own  way. 
There  was  no  law  in  the  statute  book  of  Heaven 
to  reach  him.  If  grace  had  been  withheld  for 
a  whole  year,  then  the  acts  of  that  whole  year 
would  have  been  irresponsible  acts.  If  grace 
had  been  kept  back  a  thousand  years,  the  high 
crimes  and  misdemeanors  compressed  into  that 
vast  period  would  in  justice  have  passed  unre- 
buked  and  unpunished.  And  if  grace  had  never 
been  conferred  at  all,  the  traitor  would  have 
been  completely  absolved  from  all  obligation  to 
love  and  obey  his  righteous  Sovereign  ;  through 
all  the  future  it  would  have  been  his  dreadful 
privilege  to  hate  and  blaspheme  his  Maker! 
His  Maker  could  not  have  called  him  to  an  ac- 
count, for  the  simple  Arminian  reason  that, 
where  no  grace  is  given,  the  sinner  cannot  be 
taken  in  hand  for  his  misdeeds.  Here,  then,  we 
have  two  figments  engrafted  on  the  teachings  of 
God's  holy  word — the  loss  of  man's  free  agency 
by  sin,  and  the  restoration  of  free  agency  by 


BISHOP   HEDDING.  15 

grace.  The  whole  circle  of  theological  errors 
does  not  furnish  two  instances  of  purer  fiction. 
Such,  however,  is  the  ingenuity  with  which  these 
singular  fictions  have  been  dovetailed  in  the 
great  system  of  Divine  truth,  that  multitudes 
take  it  for  granted  that  they  do  of  right  belong 
there. 

Your  late  excellent  Bishop  Hedding,  when  a 
young  man,  once  filled  an  appointment  to  preach 
in  a  Free-Will  Baptist  house  of  worship  some- 
where in  New  England — I  think  it  was  in  New 
Hampshire.  It  was  a  custom  among  the  mem- 
bers of  that  denomination,  after  preaching,  to 
make  an  exhortation,  or,  as  they  called  it,  to 
"free  their  minds."  When  Mr.  Hedding  had 
finished  his  sermon,  several  of  the  members  rose, 
one  after  another,  to  their  feet,  to  confirm  the 
truth  of  what  the  minister  had  said  to  them. 
At  length  a  brother,  who  was  perfectly  delighted 
with  the  discourse,  took  the  floor,  to  free  his 
mind  also.  After  saying  a  great  many  handsome 
things  about  the  sermon,  wishing  to  pay  the 
preacher  a  particularly  agreeable  compliment, 
he  concluded  by  saying  :  "Brethren,  you  have 
heard  the  truth  to-day,  the  whole  truth,  and 
more  than  the  truth."  When  you  Methodist 
Arminians  teach  that  Adam  was  constituted  the 


16  FREE   AGENCY   NOT   LOST. 

federal  head  and  representative  of  his  posterity, 
you  say  the  truth.  When  you  further  teach,  as 
Mr.  Watson  does,  that  death — temporal,  spirit- 
ual, and  eternal — passed  upon  all  men  in  conse- 
quence of  the  sin  of  the  first  man,  you  say  the 
whole  truth.  But  when,  in  addition  to  this,  you 
maintain  that  free  agency  was  lost  in  the  fall, 
and  afterward  restored  by  grace,  you  travel  out 
of  the  record — you  say  more  than  the  truth. 

John  Smith. 


LETTER   lY. 

Dear  Brother: — 

You  ask  me  to  state  our  views  of  free  agency. 
This  is  easily  done.  Adam  was  created  a  free 
agent,  was  a  free  agent  when  he  fell,  was  a  free 
agent  after  the  fall,  and  will  to  all  eternity  be  a 
free  agent.  Holiness  does  not  communicate 
freedom  to  the  will,  and  sin  cannot  destroy  it. 
Gabriel  is  a  free  agent,  but  he  is  not  more  free 
than  he  would  be  were  he  an  angel  of  darkness ; 
and  the  Devil  is  as  truly  a  free  agent  now  as 
when  he  was  an  angel  of  light.     What  is  free- 


FREE    AGENCY   NOT    LOST.  IT 

dom  of  the  will?  What  is  free  agency?  The 
power  to  act  according  to  one's  choice  ;  the  power 
to  do  what  one  desires  and  aims  to  do.  A  holy- 
angel  loves  God  and  obeys  Him;  he  does  this 
from  choice,  and  is  consequently  a  free  agent. 
A  fallen  angel  hates  God  and  opposes  Him ;  he 
does  this  from  choice,  and  he,  also,  is  a  free 
agent.  It  is  just  so  with  the  race  to  which  we 
belong ;  some  obey  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and 
are  saved,  others  refuse  to  obey  Him  and  are 
lost.  Both  those  who  obey  and  those  who  do 
not  obey,  those  who  are  saved  and  those  who 
are  lost,  are  alike  responsible  for  their  acts ;  and 
they  are  alike  responsible  for  their  acts  because 
they  are  equally  free.  The  impenitent  sinner, 
for  example,  persists  in  rejecting  the  great  sal- 
vation, and  in  doing  this,  he  simply  follows  the 
dictates  of  his  will,  he  will  not  come  to  the 
Saviour.  He  will  not  be  saved  ;  in  nothing  that 
he  does  is  he  more  free  than  in  this ;  he  could 
not  be  more  free  than  he  is,  because  he  is  already 
as  free  as  it  is  possible  for  any  creature  to  be; 
it  is  his  deliberate  choice  to  be  what  he  is,  an 
impenitent  sinner.  He  is,  it  is  true,  the  slave  of 
sin,  but  he  is  a  voluntary  slave ;  he  is  deeply  in 
love  with  his  ponderous  fetters;  he  refuses  to  be 
emancipated,  and  rejects  with  scorn  all  offers  of 


18  FREE   AGENCY    NOT    LOST. 

deliverance  ;  arguments  and  appeals  directed  to 
the  understanding  and  the  conscience  are  thrown 
away;  no  promises  of  future  happiness,  no 
threatenings  of  future  wrath,  nothing  short  of 
Omnipotent  power  can  shake  his  fixed  purpose  ; 
infatuated  as  he  is,  the  sinner  is  in  all  this  per- 
fectly free. 

These  are  our  views  on  this  subject,  and  we 
are  sure  that  they  are  as  strictly  in  accordance 
with  the  dictates  of  common  sense  as  they  are 
with  the  sacred  teachings  of  the  Scriptures.  To 
sura  up  the  matter,  you  and  we  agree,  and  also 
disagree.  We  are  agreed  in  this,  that  man  is  a 
free  agent.  But  in  this  we  differ:  you  believe 
that  free  agency  was  lost  in  the  fall,  we  hold 
that  it  was  not  lost;  you  think  that  free  agency 
was  restored  by  grace,  we  maintain  that  as  it 
could  never  be  lost,  it  could  not  as  a  matter  of 
course  be  restored. 

John  Smith. 


ADAM   AND    HIS   POSTERITY.  19 


LETTER   y. 

Deaii  Brother: — 

The  trial  of  our  first  parents  was,  according 
to  the  representations  of  Arminianism,  virtually 
of  the  nature  of  a  farce.  It  was  all  sham.  Far 
be  it  from  me  to  charge  you  or  your  brethren 
with  regarding  that  great  transaction  in  the 
light  of  a  farce,  or  with  actually  believing  that 
it  was  all  a  sham.  To  say  this,  would  be  to 
slander  the  denomination  to  which  you  belong. 
But  the  teachings  of  your  system,  brother,  do 
certainly  show  up  the  whole  matter  in  the  light 
of  a  solemn  farce.  Now  for  the  proof.  Your 
standards  maintain  that  the  whole  human  race 
were  put  on  trial  in  the  person  of  Adam,  their 
federal  head  and  representative.  "Adam,"  ac- 
cording to  Richard  Watson,  the  great  expounder 
of  Methodist  Arminianism,  "Adam  is  to  be  re- 
garded as  a  2^ublic  man,  the  head  and  repre- 
sentative of  the  human  race,  who,  in  consequence 
of  his  fall,  have  fallen  with  him."  Again  he 
says:  "The  circumstances  of  the  case  infallibly 
show  that  in  the  whole  transaction  they — Adam 
and  Eve — stood  before  their  Maker  as  public 


20  ADAM   AND   HIS   POSTERITY. 

persons,  and  as  the  legal  representatives  of  their 
descendants,  though  in  so  many  words  they  are 
not  invested  with  these  titles."  "The  threat- 
enings  pronounced  on  the  first  pair,"  continues 
Mr,  Watson,  "have  all  respect  to  their  posterity 
as  well  as  to  themselves.  The  death  threatened 
afifects  all.  In  Adam  all  die ;  death  entered  by 
sin,  that  is  by  his  sin,  and  then  passed  upon  all 
men."  Nor  does  he  explain  this  of  natural 
death  alone.  "The  opinion  of  those  divines 
who  include,  in  the  penalty  attached  to  the  first 
offense,  death,  bodily,  spirihial,  and  eternal,  is 
not  to  be  puffed  away  by  sarcasm,  but  stands 
firm  on  inspired  testimony."*  So  far  all  is  plain, 
and  true  as  it  is  plain.  But  we  are  now,  unhap- 
pily, about  to  enter  the  domain  of  fancy  and  of 
farce.  You  hold  the  doctrine  that  God,  though 
He  so  placed  mankind  at  the  disposal  of  their 
head  and  chief  that  if  he  stood,  they  stood,  if 
he  fell,  they  fell,  had  not  the  right  to  leave  them 
to  the  full  consequences  of  the  representation 
to  which  He  had  Himself  subjected  them.  This 
is,  it  must  be  owned,  singular  enough,  and  has 
all  the  force  of  contradiction.  Methodists  ac- 
cuse Universalists  of  representing  Jehovah  as 

*  Watson's  Theological  Institutes,  part  ii.  chap,  xviii. 


ADAM   AND   HIS   POSTERITY.  21 

threatening  sinners  merely  to  alarm  tliem,  as 
employing  the  most  fearful  terms  of  warning 
and  rebuke  simply — for  nothing.  The  accusa- 
tion is  just.  But  a  similar  accusation  may  be 
laid  against  the  Methodists.  They  admit,  in- 
deed, that  God  threatened  Adam's  posterity  as 
well  as  Adam  himself;  but  it  was  a  mere  Uni- 
versalist  threat,  it  meant  nothing.  We,  on  the 
contrary,  believe,  not  only  like  you,  that  death 
in  its  three  terrific  forms  was  denounced  against 
our  race,  but  we  believe,  what  many  of  you  do 
not  believe,  that  the  awful  penalty  was  just. 
We  stand  abashed  indeed,  we  feel  our  littleness, 
we  are  conscious  of  our  deep  ignorance,  when 
we  approach  this  mysterious,  this  incomprehen- 
sible transaction.  But  we  are  bold  to  claim, 
that  God  always  does  what  is  perfectly  fair  and 
right;  and  what  we  ourselves  would  see  is  per- 
fectly right  and  fair,  had  we  only  understandings 
equal  to  the  high  task  of  comprehending  His 
ways,  had  we  only  line  enough  to  fathom  the 
ocean  of  His  perfections.  With  an  unflinching 
front,  therefore,  we  maintain  that  it  would  be 
in  accordance  with  justice  in  the  strictest  sense, 
had  the  full  penalty  annexed  to  the  first  sin  com- 
mitted on  our  planet  been  carried  into  execu- 
tion. For  this  we  are  assailed  in  no  measured 
3* 


22  ADAM   AND   HIS   POSTERITY. 

terms,  from  ten  thousand  Arminian  pulpits. 
The  Rev.  Dr.  R.  S.  Foster,  in  a  work  entitled 
"Objections  to  Calvinism," printed  at  the  Meth- 
odist Book  Concern  in  Cincinnati,  has  resort 
to  the  following  style  of  argumentation:  ''Sin- 
ners were  born  corrupt,  and  so  cannot  be  guilty 
for  this  :  they  cannot  escape  from  corruption, 
and  so  are  not  guilty  for  remaining  in  it."  "  His 
disability  came  with  him  into  the  world ;  it  was 
communicated  as  a  part  of  his  existence ;  it  was 
his  very  and  essential  nature ;  and  now,  was  he 
to  blame  for  an  existence  and  nature  which  were 
forced  upon  him,  which  never,  at  any  period,  he 
consented  to,  and  which  he  never  could  avoid  ? 
His  first  parent  may  be  to  blame,  but  surely  he 
cannot  be  responsible  ;  for  he  not  only  did  not 
bring  his  disability  on  himself,  but  it  was  im- 
posed on  him,  without  the  possibility  of  its  re- 
moval. Let  him  sin,  no  being  in  the  universe 
can  censure  him,  for  he  is  not  to  blame."*  Thus 
Dr.  Foster  openly  takes  sides  with  rebellion,  and 
publicly  proclaims  to  the  universe  that,  had  not 
the  effects  of  Adam's  sin  been  neutralized  by  the 
atonement  of  Christ,  the  sinner  must  go  clear ; 


*  Objections  to  Calvinism,  from  the  article,  "Effectual 
Calling." 


ILLUSTRATIONS.  23 

while  the  whole  blame  of  all  the  sins  an<l  crimes 
perpetrated  from  the  creation  of  the  world, 
would  have  to  rest  with  God  Himself;  and  the 
reverend  doctor  would  have  no  scruples  to  tell 
his  Maker  so  to  His  face.  But  if,  as  Mr.  Wat- 
son declares,  the  threatenings  pronounced  on  the 
first  pair  had  all  respect  to  their  posterity,  as 
well  as  to  themselves,  those  threatenings  must 
most  certainly  have  been  just,  otherwise  God, 
the  Fountain  of  justice,  could  never  have  given 
utterance  to  them.  If  then  the  threatenings 
were  just,  it  is  clear  that  the  penalty  denounced 
must  also  have  been  just,  and  it  is  quite  as  clear 
that,  if  it  had  been  unjust  to  let  the  penalty  de- 
nounced take  its  natural  course,  the  threat  itself 
of  the  penalty  would  have  been  equally  unjust. 
If,  for  example,  it  would  be  unjust  in  a  human 
tribunal  to  confine  an  innocent  man  in  the  peni- 
tentiary, it  would  also  be  an  act  of  gross  wrong 
to  sentence  him  to  the  penitentiary.  If  it  is  a 
sin  to  inflict  the  penalty  of  death  on  a  person 
guilty  of  no  crime,  it  must  likewise  be  a  sin  to 
pronounce  sentence  of  death  on  such  a  person. 
A  judge  of  one  of  our  criminal  courts — we  will 
suppose — sentences  to  the  gallows  a  batch  of  un- 
offending creatures  who  he  knows  are  innocent, 
who  he  well  knows  deserve  not  such  a  fate  ;  in 


24        APPLICATION    OF   ARMINIAN   THEORY. 

full  knowledge,  however,  of  their  freedom  from 
all  guilt,  he  solemnly  proceeds  to  declare  that, 
on  such  a  day,  between  such  and  such  hours,  the 
terror-stricken  wretches  before  him  shall  hang 
by  the  neck  till  they  are  dead.  Would  not  every- 
body shrink  from  a  farce  so  revolting  ?  Now 
you  Arminians,  my  dear  brother,  are  chargeable 
with  placing  the  Supreme  Judge  of  the  world  in 
an  attitude  precisely  analagous  to  this.  He,  to 
whom  the  future  is  as  the  present,  to  whom 
things  that  are  not  are  as  things  that  are,  has 
before  Him  in  the  person  of  Adam  the  repre- 
sented human  race ;  with  that  race  He  is  about 
to  try  a  dangerous  and  an  unlawful  experiment ; 
an  experiment  for  which,  in  future  ages,  He  will 
be  called  to  account  by  Arminians,  Pelagians, 
and  infidels.  He  knows  that  the  first  parent 
is  to  blame,  and  that  with  the  first  parent  the 
blame  of  the  great  transgression .  should  rest. 
He  knows  that  it  would  be  contrary  to  every  prin- 
ciple of  right  and  justice  to  inflict  woes  and  suffer- 
ings on  millions  of  millions  innumerable,  on  ac- 
count of  the  sin  of  that  one  individual ;  for  if  the 
Rev.  Dr.  R.  S.  Foster  knows  that  this  was  un- 
just, God,  the  all-wise  God,  must  certainly  have 
known  it  too.  In  spite  of  all  this,  however,  in 
spite  of  the  guiltlessness  of  humanity,  in  spite 


DOCTRINE   OF   COMPENSATION.  25 

of  the  flagrant  wrong  of  making  tlie  transgres- 
sion of  their  chief  the  ground  of  condemnation 
to  unborn  myriads,  He  proceeds  to  pass  sen- 
tence of  death — death  bodily,  spiritual,  and  eter- 
nal— on  the  entire  series  of  generations  from  the 
beginning  to  the  end  of  time.  I  conclude  as  I 
begun,  with  the  remark  that  the  trial  of  our 
first  parents  was,  according  to  the  teachings  of 
Arminianism,  of  the  nature  of  a  farce — a  sol- 
emn, a  stupendous,  an  awful  farce, 

John  Smith. 


LETTER    YI. 

Dear  Brother; — 

The  writer  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans, 
after  expatiating  on  the  deep  things  of  God — 
the  entrance  of  sin  into  the  world  by  the  first 
man ;  the  superabounding  grace  of  the  second 
Man ;  the  rejection  of  the  Jews  ;  the  calling  of 
the  Gentiles;  the  sovereignty  which  has  mercy 
on  whom  it  will  have  mercy,  and  hardens  whom 
it  will  harden — triumphantly  challenges  any 
one,  man  or  angel,  to  show  that  the  Creator  is 
in  his  debt;  and  if  this  can  be  made  to  appear, 


26  DOCTRINE   OF    COMPENSATION. 

assures  the  modest  claimant,  in  terms  of  lofty 
satire,  that  it  shall  be  recompensed  to  him 
again.  The  Apostle  probably  never  suspected 
that  this  challenge,  so  boldly  given,  would  be  as 
boldly  accepted.  He  could  hardly  have  foreseen 
that,  in  future  ages,  a  branch  of  the  Christian 
Church,  pluming  itself  on  its  superior  sanctity, 
claiming  to  be  the  special  depositary  of  gospel 
grace,  and  numbering  its  membership  by  hun- 
dreds of  thousands,  would  actually  stand  forth, 
and,  in  behalf  of  all  the  sinners  from  the  begin- 
ning to  the  end  of  time,  set  up  a  plea  against 
Jehovah  Himself  for  damages  sustained  by  them 
in  the  fall  of  their  great  forefather.  The  united 
body  of  Arminian  Methodists,  Episcopal  and 
non-Episcopal,  hold  it  as  an  article  of  faith  that, 
after  the  fatal  revolt  in  Eden,  God,  as  a  just 
and  righteous  Being,  was  under  obligation  to 
do  one  of  two  things  :  to  destroy  Adam  at  once, 
to  prevent  the  propagation  of  his  species ;  or,  to 
make  adequate  compensation  to  his  posterity 
for  the  loss  they  sustained  in  that  great  catas- 
trophe. 

"Had  not  God  provided  a  Redeemer,"  says 
Dr.  Adam  Clarke,  your  favorite  commentator, 
"He  would  no  doubt  have  terminated  the  whole 
mortal  story  by  cutting  off  the  original  trans- 


DOCTRINE    OF    COMPENSATION.  27 

gressors ;  for  it  would  have  been  unjust  to  per- 
mit them  to  propagate  their  like  in  such  circum- 
stances that  their  offspring  must  be  unavoidably 
and  eternally  miserable."  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
the  original  transgressors  were  not  cut  off,  but 
were  permitted  to  propagate  their  like.  To  meet 
this  difficulty,  Arminian  ingenuity  has  been 
taxed  to  the  utmost,  and  the  result  is  a  new 
doctrine  of  atonement.  It  is  indeed  a  very  odd 
sort  of  atonement,  yet  it  holds  the  same  relation 
to  the  Arminian  system  that  the  keystone  does 
to  the  arch.  It  is  not  the  atonement  of  Christ. 
It  is  not  an  atonement  made  by  rebellious  sin- 
ners to  their  holy  and  righteous  Creator  for 
wrongs  done  to  Him.  It  is  an  atonement  which 
the  holy  and  righteous  Creator  has  made  to  re- 
bellions sinners  for  the  stupendous  wrong  which 
He  inflicted  on  them,  by  constituting  Adam 
their  federal  head  and  representative,  and  thus 
involving  them  in  all  the  direful  consequences 
of  the  fall.  "It  is  impossible,"  says  the  Rev. 
Richard  Watson  in  his  Theological  Institutes,  a 
standard  authority  in  your  Church,  "it  is  im- 
possible to  impeach  the  equity  of  the  Divine 
procedure,  since  no  man  suffers  any  loss  or  in- 
jury ultimately  by  the  sin  of  Adam,  but  by  his 
own  willful  obstinacy;  the  abounding  grace  by 


28  DOCTRINE    OF    COMPENSATION. 

Christ  having  placed  before  all  men,  upon  their 
believing,  not  merely  compensation  for  the  loss 
and  injury  sustained  by  Adam,  but  infinitely 
higher  blessings,  both  in  kind  and  degree,  than 
were  forfeited  by  him."  The  unwarrantable 
notion  that  God  dealt  unfairly  by  us  in  placing 
us  on  trial  in  the  person  of  our  federal  head 
and  representative,  lies  in  full  sight  at  the  bot- 
tom of  this  reasoning.  Take  this  idea  out  of 
the  way,  and  the  sentence  just  quoted  has  no 
meaning.  The  argument  of  Mr.  Watson  is  to  this 
effect :  Mankind  sustained  a  fatal  loss  and  injury 
through  Adam.  For  this,  God  Himself  is  held 
responsible.  To  repair  the  mischief,  He  sent 
His  only  begotten  Son  into  the  world  ;  and 
now,  since  Christ  has  died  for  sinners,  it  is  im- 
possible to  impeach  the  equity  of  the  Divine 
procedure,  ample  compensation  having  been 
made  to  our  injured  race.  But  suppose  that 
such  compensation  had  not  been  rendered  ;  sup- 
pose that  Christ  had  not  died — what  then  ?  The 
inference  is  plain.  In  that  case,  the  equity  of 
the  Divine  procedure  might  be  impeached,  and 
there  is  no  doubt  would  be  impeached,  by  all 
Arminians  on  the  face  of  the  earth.  Your 
friend  Doctor  Foster  is  very  explicit  and  very 
decided  on  this  subject.     "  Sinners,"  he  says, 


DOCTRINE    OF    COMPENSATION.  29 

"were  born  corrupt,  and  so  cannot  be  guilty  for 
this ;  tliej  cannot  escape  from  corruption,  and 
so  are  not  guilty  for  remaining  in  it ;  and  there- 
fore"— such  is  the  decision  of  the  sapient  doc- 
tor—  "therefore  they  have  no  guilt  whatever 
because  of  their  corruption." 

"We  deny,"  such  is  the  language  of  Dr. 
Whedon,  the  able  editor  of  the  Methodist  Quar- 
terly Review,  "  we  deny  that  God  might  have 
brought  the  whole  human  race  into  existence 
without  a  Saviour,  with  a  full  certainty  of  eternal 
death  upon  the  whole."* 

The  Methodist- Arminian  theory  of  the  fall 
may  then  be  stated  thus  :  The  first  transgress- 
ors ought  to  have  been  cut  off,  to  prevent  the 
propagation  of  their  species ;  but  since  they 
were  not  cut  off,  their  posterity  had  a  right  to 
demand  redress  of  their  Maker.  Justice  re- 
quired that  a  fair  compensation  should  be  made, 
that  an  adequate  remedy  should  be  provided  for 
the  wide-spread  evils  of  the  grand  apostasy.  A 
full  and  fair  compensation  was  made,  an  adequate 
remedy  was  provided,  in  the  salvation  of  the 
Redeemer.  And  now  that  these  claims  have 
been  honorably  met,  damages  paid  in  full,  and 


*  Methodist  Quarterly  Review,  October,  1861. 
4 


30  AN   UNJUST    MONARCH. 

losses  properly  made  up,  under  such  circum- 
stances it  is  impossible  to  impeach  the  equity  of 
the  Divine  procedure.  Men  cannot  now  rea- 
sonably find  fault  with  God.  This  is  Arminian- 
ism,  pure  and  simple. 

Let  us  now,  for  a  moment,  look  at  the  princi- 
ple that  underlies  this  theory.  A  monarch,  con- 
trary to  every  principle  of  right,  deprives  a 
subject  of  an  estate  worth  a  hundred  thousand 
dollars,  and  compensates  him  for  this  act  of  in- 
justice by  giving  him,  on  certain  conditions,  an- 
other estate  worth  a  million.  These  conditions 
are,  however,  so  repugnant  to  his  feelings  and 
tastes,  that,  three  chances  to  one,  he  will  reject 
the  proffered  favor,  and  die  at  last  in  abject 
poverty.  It  is  impossible,  according  to  the 
Arminian  way  of  thinking,  to  impeach  the 
equity  of  this  ruler's  procedure,  since  the  sub- 
ject sustains  no  loss  or  injury  ultimately,  except 
by  his  own  willful  obstinacy.  He  is,  it  is  true, 
without  his  consent,  stripped  of  his  just  rights 
and  possessions;  but  then,  if  he  can  only  be 
brought  to  accept  it,  a  much  larger  sum  comes 
into  his  possession — and  thus  abundant  compen- 
sation is  rendered.  But  it  might  be  asked,  can 
a  subsequent  benefit,  however  valuable,  sanctify 
a  crime  ?  Is  it  ever  right  to  do  evil  that  good 
may  come  ?     Suppose  you  rob  a  man  of  all 


APPLICATION.  31 

lie  is  worth,  and  afterwards  repay  him,  with  in- 
terest— you  may  make  him  perfectly  satisfied ; 
he  may  even  be  thankful  for  having  been  robbed  ; 
yet  this  cannot  alter  the  nature  of  the  first  act. 
You  may  pay  principal  and  interest,  doubled 
and  trebled  in  the  bargain;  if  you  deprived  him 
unlawfully  of  what  was  his  own,  you  acted  on  a 
wrong  principle,  you  did  what  you  had  no  right 
to  do — you  are  in  truth  a  robber  still. 

If  God  by  a  questionable  act  brought  the 
human  race  into  a  situation  into  which  it  was 
not  right  to  bring  them  ;  if,  after  placing  them 
on  trial  in  the  person  of  their  federal  head  and 
representative.  He  had  not  the  right  to  leave 
them  to  all  the  consequences  of  that  trial — and 
Arminians  boldly  contend  that  He  had  not  the 
right — then  a  wrong  of  portentous  magnitude 
was  perpetrated.  No  subsequent  benefits  could 
change  the  nature  of  that  wrong.  Not  all  the 
blessings,  temporal  and  spiritual,  bestowed  and 
to  be  bestowed ;  not  all  the  grace,  common  and 
special,  conferred  and  to  be  conferred  ;  not  even 
the  gift  of  His  only-begotten  Son  to  redeem, 
nor  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  regenerate 
and  sanctify, — could  balance  the  fearful  account, 
or  aS'ord  a  proper  compensation  to  mankind  for 
such  a  gigantic  wrong. 

John  Smith. 


32  GRACE   NOT   COMPENSATION. 


LETTER    YIL 

Dear  Brother: — 

Methodist  ministers,  it  is  to  be  feared,  are  too 
apt  to  accustom  their  people  to  look  at  the  salva- 
tion of  the  Redeemer  in  the  light  of  a  compensa- 
tion. God  is  the  Compensator ;  the  compensated 
party  is  the  much  injured  race  of  Adam;  the 
compensation  is  the  atonement  made  by  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ.  This  doctrine,  though  we 
search  the  Bible  in  vain  to  find  it  there,  is  to  the 
Arminian  theologian  exceedingly  precious,  and 
dear  to  him  as  the  apple  of  his  eye.  Notions  so 
clearly  unscriptural  we  boldly  assail,  and  vre  as 
boldly  maintain  that  the  work  of  Christ  is  not 
and  cannot  be,  in  the  proper  sense  of  the  term, 
a  compensation.  To  vast  multitudes  of  our  fel- 
low-sinners this  so-called  compensation  is,  as  a 
matter  of  fact,  no  compensation  at  all.  Men 
come  into  the  world  with  dispositions  strangely 
repugnant  to  the  claims  of  the  Divine  law.  Of 
this  singular  repugnance  the  sinner,  of  himself, 
never  obtains  the  mastery.  The  fatal  difiiculty 
begins  where  moral  agency  begins,  and  where 


GRACE    NOT    COMPENSATION.  33 

the  difficulty  begins  the  compensation  ought 
also  to  begin.  Now  if  the  human  race  must  be 
compensated  for  the  loss  they  sustained  by  the 
Divine  arrangement,  it  would  seem  to  be  but 
fair  that  the  compensation  should  in  every  way 
be  a  full  and  just  equivalent.  Moral  rectitude 
ought  at  least  to  have  an  equal  chance  with 
moral  depravity,  so  that  every  person  might  set 
out  on  his  career  not  a  whit  less  inclined  to 
good  than  to  evil.  Now  look  at  facts.  The 
enmity  of  the  carnal  mind  is  not  always  over- 
come by  grace.  The  tendency  to  evil  is  not 
balanced  by  an  equal  tendency  to  good.  The 
disposition  to  rebel  is  not  balanced  by  an  equal 
disposition  to  obey.  The  love  of  sin  is  not  bal- 
anced by  an  equal  love  of  holiness.  With  what 
propriety,  then,  can  you  call  the  gospel  scheme 
of  salvation  a  scheme  of  compensation?  The 
Apostle  Paul  declares  that  we  are  saved  by 
grace.     He  says  nothing  about  compensation. 

John  Smith. 


4- 


34  GRACE   NOT   COMPENSATION. 


LETTER    YIIL 

Dear  Brother  : — ■ 

I  fear  that  you  have  not  calmly  considered 
the  serious  difficulties  which  beset  your  favorite 
doctrine  of  compensation.  That  doctrine  strikes 
at  the  Divine  integrity.  All  human  beings, 
without  exception,  are  made  sinners  by  the  dis- 
obedience of  the  first  Adam,  but  all  human 
beings  are  not,  without  exception,  made  right- 
eous by  the  obedience  of  the  second  Adam. 
All  men  are  not  compensated  alike.  Look  at 
Moses  and  Pharaoh,  at  Peter  and  Judas,  at 
Saul  of  Tarsus  and  his  fellow-persecutors  on 
the  road  to  Damascus.  But  even  if  the  same 
number  of  persons  were,  as  a  matter  of  fact, 
made  righteous  by  the  obedience  of  One,  that 
were  made  sinners  by  the  disobedience  of  an- 
other ;  even  if  all,  over  whom  death  reigned  by 
one  man's  offense,  were  also  to  receive  abund- 
ance of  grace,  and  of  the  gift  of  righteousness, 
so  as  to  reign  in  life  by  one,  Jesus  Christ,  your 
theory  would  still  be  environed  with  embar- 
rassments of  no  small  magnitude.  It  simply 
comes  to  this,  that  God  inflicted  a  stupendous 


GRACE   NOT   COMPENSATION.  35 

wrong  on  our  race,  but  that  He  graciously 
atoned  for  the  wrong  by  conferring  a  more 
stupendous  benefit.  The  manifest  violation  of 
the  rights  of  mankind,  in  holding  them  responsi- 
ble for  an  act  to  which  they  did  not  and  could 
not  give  their  personal  assent,  would  still  stand 
out  in  bold  and  terrible  relief,  and  the  united 
acclamations  of  redeemed  humanity  would  as- 
cend from  hearts  oppressed  with  a  sense  of  the 
Divine  injustice. 

Remember,  my  dear  brother,  we  do  not  give 
utterance  to  such  pernicious  sentiments.  God 
forbid  that  we  should  stigmatize  that  great 
transaction  as  unfair  or  unjust.  We  believe,  on 
the  contrary,  that  as  the  Creator  is  a  Being  so 
absolutely  holy  that  He  can  by  no  possibility 
do  wrong,  it  was  perfectly  just  and  right  that 
all  men  should  be  represented  by  Adam,  and 
that  all  men  should  by  his  disobedience  be  made 
sinners.  And  we  believe  this  because  the  Bible 
says  so.  If  others  are  not  satisfied  with  such 
reasons,  if  others  feel  that  it  is  safe  to  trust  their 
Maker,  only  just  so  far  as  He  makes  it  plain  to 
their  apprehension  that  He  has  committed  no 
errors,  and  has  done  no  injustice ;  if  others 
cannot  bring  themselves  to  put  confidence  in 
the  Divine  testimony,  until  that  testimony  has 


36  GRACE   NOT   COMPENSATION. 

been  corroborated  by  independent  proofs  from 
other  quarters,  we  may  be  sorry  for  it,  but  we 
cannot  belp  it.  I  repeat,  since  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures distinctly  set  forth  the  stern  truth,  that  by 
one  man's  disobedience  all  w^ere  made  sinners, 
and  subjected  to  the  penalty  of  death,  we  be- 
lieve it.  And  we  will,  by  the  blessing  of  God, 
rest  in  the  belief  of  this,  in  spite  of  all  the  wrj 
faces,  and  upturned  noses,  and  sardonic  grins 
of  all  the  wiseacres,  theological  and  psycholog- 
ical, in  the  land, — from  the  Rev.  R.  S.  Foster, 
hater  of  Calvinism,  to  the  Rev.  Henry  Ward 
Beecher,  lover  of  novelties  and  oddities ;  and 
from  the  Rev.  Henry  Ward  Beecher,  lover  of 
novelties  and  oddities,  down  to  the  Rev.  Theo- 
dore Parker,  rider  of  hobbies  and  preacher  of 
Pantheism ;  and  from  this  lower  deep  down  to 
Parker  Pillsbury  and  William  Lloyd  Garrison, 
apostles  of  anarchy  and  blasphemy. 

Calvinists  pretend  not  to  a  wisdom  that  man 
does  not  possess.  We  are  not  backward  to 
acknowledge  our  incompetence  to  scan  the  ways 
of  an  Infinite  Being — ways  which  that  Being 
'has  Himself  declared  to  be  past  finding  out; 
and  a  becoming  modesty  forbids  us  to  think 
that  we  can  find  out  w^hat  is  absolutely  beyond 
■'the  reach  of  the  human  understanding.     True 


VOYAGE    TO   SIRIUS.  3T 

science,  whether  it  relates  to  matter  or  mind, 
to  this  world  or  the  world  to  come,  has  its  lim- 
its; and  the  genuine  philosopher  knows  where 
to  stop.  It  is  only  the  quack  that  is  not  deterred 
from  attempting  impossibilities.  A  proposal 
in  the  Atlantic  Monthly,  by  Oliver  Wendell 
Holmes,  to  start  on  an  expedition  to  the  fixed 
stars,  in  one  of  Prof.  Wise's  balloons,  for  the 
purpose  of  measuring  with  a  tape  line  the  exact 
distance  between  Boston  and  Sirius,  would, 
without  question,  be  regarded  as  bordering 
somewhat  on  the  extravagant.  But  would  such 
a  proposal  be  more  extravagant,  or  more  ab- 
surd, than  the  attempt  which  is  so  often  made 
to  apply  human  line  and  plummet  to  measure 
the  ways  and  fathom  the  thoughts  of  the  In- 
finite and  Eternal  God  ?  To  the  bold  voyager, 
about  to  undertake  so  extensive  a  progress,  we 
would  be  tempted  to  say,  "  Doctor,  we  admire 
your  courage,  but  with  becoming  deference  to 
your  enlighted  judgment,  is  there  not  a  natural 
impossibility  in  the  way  of  your  getting  to  the 
Dog  Sitar  ?  Are  you  sure  that  you  are  not 
buying  leagues  of  tape  for  nothing  ?  Have  you 
carefully  considered  the  mishaps  that  might  be- 
fall you  after  you  got  out  of  sight  of  the  little 
mundane  sphere  to  which  you  at  present  belong  ? 


38  A   PROVERB. 

But,  seriously,  sir,  you  have  undertaken  a  labor 
more  difficult  than  a  voyage  to  the  regions  of 
space.  The  old  Holy  Bible,  with  its  sublime 
doctrines  and  its  heaven-born  principles,  is,  in 
your  judgment,  getting  out  of  date,  and  you 
have  as  good  as  thrown  it  aside.  You  are  for 
an  Ameincanized  Bible  ;  a  Bible  that  shall  give 
its  sanction  to  the  religion  set  forth  in  the 
'Autocrat  of  the  Breakfast  Table,'  that  is,  a 
Bible  with  the  name  of  Christ  expunged.  The 
talents  which  God  has  given  you  are  employed 
in  trying  to  write  down  the  glorious  mysteries 
of  redemption.  But,  sir,  you  are  wasting  quarts 
of  ink  and  reams  of  foolscap  to  no  purpose. 
Your  ancestors  had  a  proverb  to  the  effect  that 
only  angels  and  fools  attempt  what  lies  beyond 
the  sphere  of  mortals  ;  angels,  because  they  are 
angels,  and  have  the  requisite  faculties ;  and 
fools,  because  they  are  fools,  and  know  no  bet- 
ter. That  you  sometimes  attempt  what  lies  be- 
yond the  province  of  poor  ignorant  mortals, 
your  writings  make  it  clear  enough ;  and,  doc- 
tor, that  you  are  not  an  angel,  is  just  as  clear  to 
the  majority  of  your  readers." 

But  to  leave  the  sage  of  the  modern  Athens, 
to  whom  this  passing  compliment  is  due,  and  to 
come  back  to  my  good  brother  Peter.     We  call 


OUR    CREED.  39 

no  man  on  earth  master.     Among  our  fellows, 
indeed,  we  lay  claim  to  a  noble  independence  ; 
but  when  Jehovah   condescends   to   speak,   we 
humbly  desire  to  know  our  proper  places  ;   and 
our  proper  places  are  the  places  of  little  chil- 
dren, who  are  not  vet  out  of  the  spelling  book, 
and  who  must,  for  a  long  while  to  come,  take 
many  things  on  trust  and  unhesitatingly  believe 
what    God    says,  simply  because   He   says   so. 
Our  creed  is  not  only  because  God  has  said  so 
and  so,  therefore  it  must  be  true,  but  because 
He  has  done  so  and  so,  therefore  it  must  be 
right.     Such  arguments  are  proof  against  all 
sophistry.  Herewe  take  our  stand;  and,  standing 
on  these  principles,  we  find  that  there  is  a  rock 
beneath  our  feet.      Here  also  we  are  very  bold, 
and  amid  the  deafening  shouts  from  a  hundred 
thousand  throats,  hoarse  with  vociferations   of 
"injustice  I"    ''cruelty!"    "tyranny!"   we   pro- 
claim, and  we  would   proclaim  with   sound   of 
trumpet,  that  God,  the  holy,  the  righteous  God, 
though  He  has  in  His  adorable  mercy  provided 
salvation  for  Adam's  lost  race,  owes  compensa- 
tion to  no  man  on  earth. 

Here,  again,  brother,  we  have  the  advantage 
of  you.  IS'o  expression,  certainly  no  cordial 
expression,  of  approbation  ever  escapes  from 


40  AMENS. 

Arminian  lips,  when  God's  dealings  witli  man- 
kind, in  the  matter  of  the  fall,  are  placed  on 
their  naked  merits  I  could  go  into  the  largest 
Methodist  congregation  in  your  city,  and,  pro- 
provided  they  did  not  know  that  it  was  John 
Smith  that  addressed  them,  I  might,  by  setting 
forth  the  amazing  grace  that  delivered  us  from 
the  curse  pronounced  in  Eden,  perchance  draw 
out  scores  and  scores  of  "Amens,"  some  faint, 
others  long  and  loud,  from  as  many  pious  hearts. 
But  should  I  undertake  to  show  that  God  was 
acting  on  a  principle  just  as  sound,  when  all 
men  were  constituted  sinners  by  the  disobedi- 
ence of  Adam;  that  He  did  not  go  too  far, 
when,  on  account  of  the  great  transgression, 
sentence  of  death  was  passed  on  Adam's  entire 
posterity  ;  that  He  might  with  most  perfect 
justice  have  left  our  apostate  race  to  their  well 
deserved  fate ;  that  He  was  in  no  sense  bound 
to  provide  a  Saviour,  and  that  He  owed  them 
no  compensation, — a  dead  silence  would  most 
likely  pervade  the  assembly.  Not  a  solitary 
"Amen"  would  break  forth,  as  an  indorsement 
of  these  great  scriptural  truths.  Possibly  some 
of  my  hearers  might  even  go  to  the  length  of 
muttering,  "abominable  Calvinism!"  between 
their  teeth.     Let  the  scene  be  changed.      John 


CREDITOR    AND    DEBTOR.  41 

Smith  retires.  The  Rev.  Dr.  Foster  ascends  the 
pulpit.  Now  mark  the  contrast.  "Brethren," 
exclaims  the  author  of  "  Objections  to  Calvin- 
ism," "brethren,  the  parent  might  be  to  blame 
for  his  own  sin,  but  how  could  a  whole  race  be 
to  blame  for  the  violation  of  a  covenant  to 
which  they  did  not  and  could  not  give  their  as- 
sent, and  over  w^hich  they  had  no  more  control 
than  the  Angel  Gabriel  ?  No,  my  brethren,  God 
could  not  in  justice  have  left  the  human  race  to 
perish  in  the  ruins  of  the  fall ;  He  was  in  duty 
bound  to  make  a  fair  and  righteous  compensa- 
tion, by  bestowing  a  full  measure,  and  an  equal 
share  of  grace  on  all  mankind."  And  again  the 
"Amens"  and  the  "Bless  the  Lords"  would  be 
as  numerous,  as  hearty,  as  long,  and  loud  as 
at  first. 

These  different  styles  of  preaching  represent 
a  striking  difference  between  your  doctrinal  sys- 
tem and  ours.  In  the  Arminian  scheme,  the 
fallen  human  race  is  creditor  and  plaintiff;  the 
great  Creator,  Debtor  and  Defendant.  In  the 
Calvinistic  scheme,  God  Almighty  is  Creditor 
and  Plaintiff;  the  depraved  and  sinful  humaa 
race,  debtor  and  defendant. 

John  Smith. 
5 


42  NATURAL   DEPRAVITY. 


LETTER    IX. 


Dear  Brother: — 

You  have  often  read  and  admired  David's 
profound  expressions  of  penitential  sorrow,  in 
the  Fifty-first  Psahn :  "Behold,  I  was  shapen 
in  iniquity,  and  in  sin  did  my  mother  conceive 
me."  Theodore  Parker  would  laugh  outright 
at  such  a  confession.  In  Dr.  Holmes's  Ameri- 
canized religion,  a  sentiment  so  unphilosophical 
could  stand  no  possible  chance  of  a  place.  The 
Rev.  Dr.  Foster,  Methodist  as  he  is,  would 
modestly  inquire  whether  a  man  can  be  to  blame 
for  that  over  which  he  had  no  control — whether 
it  was  his  fault  that  he  was  conceived  in  sin 
and  shapen  in  iniquity  ?  From  such  persons, 
however,  this  is  only  natural.  Nothing  better 
could  be  expected  of  them.  The  nature  of  sin 
is  not  understood  until  its  power  is  felt  and 
day-dreams  give  place  to  sober  realities.  It  is 
not  until  the  penetrating  light  of  God's  most 
holy  law  throws  its  searching  beams  on  the  hor- 
rible darkness  in  which  sin  enshrouds  the  under- 
standing, that  a  human  being  finds  himself  to  be, 


NATURAL   DEPRAVITY.  43 

what  the  Bible  says  every  human  being  is,  dead 
in  trespasses  and  sins  by  nature.  To  such  a 
person  the  language  of  David's  confession  be- 
comes dreadfully  clear  and  intelligible.  Then 
caviling  ceases ;  the  consciousness  of  moral  de- 
pravity becomes  painfully  inteuse ;  and  sneers 
and  grins  are  succeeded  by  groans  and  tears. 
Such  a  man  would  appreciate  an  Americanized 
Bible  as  an  astronomer  would  be  likely  to  ap- 
preciate an  Americanized  sun. 

The  Holy  Scriptures  set  forth  in  very  striking 
terms  the  doctrine  of  human  depravity.  This 
doctrine  we  both  believe.  Were  I  a  mere  con- 
troversialist, I  might,  perhaps,  be  tempted  to 
misrepresent  your  sentiments.  But  you  know 
me  too  well,  brother,  to  suppose  that  I  could 
descend  to  a  practice  so  little  in  keeping  with 
the  dignity  of  a  minister  of  the  Gospel.  I  re- 
joice that  this  fundamental  truth  is  held  in  com- 
mon by  us.  From  the  rant  of  the  crazy  fanatics 
who  boast  of  an  inner  light  superior  to  Revela- 
tion, and  from  the  fatal  errors  of  those  twin 
sisters  of  heresy,  Universalism  and  Unitarian- 
ism,  our  churches  are,  and  God  grant  that  they 
may  ever  be,  as  far  removed  as  zenith  from 
nadir.  Let  the  world  know  this.  We  are  not 
enemies.     We  are  brethren.     And  let  it  not  be 


44  COMPENSATION   AGAIN. 

forgotten  that  it  is  the  errors  which  your  system 
has  engrafted  on  scriptural  truths,  and  not  the 
scriptural  truths  of  your  system,  which  we  feel 
it  our  duty  to  combat.  If  you  Arminians  were 
only  willing  to  acknowledge  that  it  was  right 
for  God  to  do  as  He  did,  grace  or  no  grace ;  if 
you  were  only  willing  to  acknowledge  that  He 
might  with  perfect  justice  have  left  mankind  to 
perish  in  the  ruins  of  the  fall, — there  would  be 
no  difference,  and  there  could  be  no  difficulty, 
between  us  on  this  point.  But  this  you  will  not 
do.  You  claim  compensation  for  the  loss  sus- 
tained in  Adam.  Our  feelings  of  reverence  re- 
volt at  such  a  claim,  and  we  are  constrained  by 
a  strong  sense  of  duty  to  enter  our  solemn  pro- 
test. We  are  firm  believers  in  salvation  by 
grace,  and  we  can,  by  a  stretch  of  the  imagina- 
tion, conceive  of  a  salvation  by  compensation, 
though  the  Bible  says  nothing  about  it;  but  that 
sinners  should  be  saved  by  compensatory  grace 
or  by  a  gracious  compensation,  is  what  we  are 
free  to  confess  we  have  not  the  capacity  to  com- 
prehend. "In  the  Divine  Mind,"  says  Dr.  Mc- 
Clintock,  former  editor  of  the  MeOwdiat  Quar- 
terly Review,  "our  whole  race  appears  as  an 
aggregated  unity,  as  well  as  a  collection  of  per- 
sonal individualities."     The  curse  that  was  pro- 


COMPENSATION    AGAIN.  45 

nounced  on  Adam  was  pronounced  also  on  his 
posterity.  The  doctor  sees  no  difficulty  in  this. 
Why,  it  might  be  asked,  is  there  no  difficulty  ? 
This  is  his  answer:  "Since  whatever  was  for- 
feited in  the  first  Adam  has  been  either  restored 
or  compensated  for  by  the  second  Adam."* 
Here  we  have  it  again — compensated  for  by  the 
second  Adam  1  This  is  ever  the  one  leading 
idea  of  Arminianism.  In  your  theology,  some 
things  are  suppressed  which  ought  to  be  brought 
out  to  view.  It  is  silently  taken  for  granted 
that  the  principle  by  which  the  destiny  of  a  race 
was  put  in  the  power  of  its  head  and  progenitor, 
was  radically  wrong ;  that,  inasmuch  as  a  stu- 
pendous wrong  had  been  done,  God  could  not, 
consistently  with  the  dictates  of  honor  and  jus- 
tice, leave  mankind  in  this  predicament;  that, 
therefore,  justice  absolutely  demanded  for  the 
apostate  offspring  of  an  apostate  father  an  ade- 
quate remedy  and  full  compensation.  All  this 
lies  at  the  bottom  of  your  theory  of  original 
sin.  Now  here  we  are  at  variance,  and  we  must 
continue  to  be  at  variance  with  you.  For  your 
theory  of  compensation  we  have,  we  confess,  a 
strong  dislike — a  dislike  rising  even  to  absolute 

*  Methodist  Quarterly  Review,  April,  1854. 
5* 


46  AN   ILLUSTRATION. 

hate.  Calvinists  can  never  be  brought  to  believe 
in  salvation  by  compensation  •,  they  are  too 
firmly  fixed  in  the  be]ief  of  salvation  by  grace. 

This  is  a  topic  which,  as  I  have  more  than 
once  observed,  your  preachers  and  writers  are 
apt  to  touch  very  lightly.  This  is  emphatically 
the  weak  spot,  this  is  the  most  vulnerable  part 
in  their  doctrinal  system,  and  they  know  it  well. 
They  seem  to  go  on  the  principle  that  the  less 
there  is  said  about  it,  the  better.  The  Arminian 
doctrine  of  compensation,  I  have  sometimes 
thought,  is  kept  merely  as  a  kind  of  show. 
Gilded  and  varnished,  to  the  unpracticed  eye 
nothing  could  appear  more  beautiful.  But,  like 
other  articles  kept  for  show,  it  is  not  meant  to 
be  taken  down  and  handled — at  least  not  by 
rough  Calvinistic  fingers. 

Among  the  finest  illustrations  of  dodging  the 
question,  as  it  is  called,  a  Methodist  brother 
once  gave,  when  plied  with  the  interrogatory, 
"What  would  be  the  condition  of  mankind,  if 
the  Saviour  had  not  died  for  them  ?"  "  Oh  I 
but  He  did  die,  and  now  all  men  can  be  saved!" 
was  the  quick  reply.  "Yes,  no  doubt  He  did 
die  for  sinners,  and  all  that  come  to  Him  will  be 
«aved ;  but  suppose  He  had  not  died — what 
then  ?"   "  But  He  did  die,"  was  again  the  reply. 


HUMAN   NATURE.  47 

"  You  are  not  answering  my  question,  Mr.  Wil- 
kins;  suppose  He  had  not  died?"  "Not  a 
supposable  case,  for  He  did  die  for  all  man- 
kind," was  the  rejoinder  of  Mr.  Wilkins.  "  Was 
God  then  under  a  positive  obligation  to  provide 
salvation  for  sinners?"  "By  no  means.  He 
was  not  under  obligation,  but  He  did  provide 
salvation  for  all  men."  "  Might  not  God,  then, 
have  left  all  mankind  to  perish  in  their  sins  ?" 
"  Certainly  not,  because  Christ  died  for  all 
men,"  was  the  ready  answer  of  Mr.  Wilkins. 
Here  the  conversation  ended,  and  here  also 
ends  this  letter. 

John  Smith. 


LETTER  X. 

Dear  Brother: — 

"  The  Arminian,  as  fully  as  the  Calvinist, 
admits,  the  doctrine  of  the  total  depravity  of 
human  nature,  in  consequence  of  the  fall  of  our 
first  parents."  This  is  not  my  statement;  it  is 
the  statement  of  the  Rev.  Richard  Watson,  the 
ablest  theologian  of  your  church.     This  scrip- 


48  HUMAN    NATURE. 

tural  doctrine  has  always  been  a  stone  of  stum- 
bling, bat  the  stumblers  were,  perhaps,  never  so 
numerous  as  in  this  nineteenth  century.  If  a 
little  learning  in  Pope's  time  used  to  make  a  man 
a  fool,  how  shall  we  describe  the  havoc  a  little 
science  makes  of  men's  sober  senses  in  our 
times  ?  Shoals  of  Pelagians  more  heterodox 
than  Pelagius,  Pelagians  of  the  school  which 
believes  in  a  religion  without  grace,  and  hopes 
for  a  heaven  without  a  Saviour ;  the  school  of 
Fowlers  and  Wells,  of  Dr.  Bellows  and  of  Dr. 
Chapiu,  threaten  a  general  bankruptcy  of  the 
faith  once  delivered  to  the  saints.  The  mere 
mention  of  total  depravity  is  sufficient  to  dis- 
compose the  philosophic  gravity  of  these  gen- 
tlemen. Human  nature  is  quite  good  enough 
for  them,  it  needs  only  the  right  kind  of  training 
to  elevate  it  to  perfection.  The  result  is  what 
might  be  expected ;  the  system  of  one  pretender 
has  a  run  to-day,  and  the  new-fangled  theories 
of  another  pretender  have  a  run  to-morrow; 
while,  the  day  following,  the  dupes  of  both  tie 
their  faith  to  the  leading-strings  of  a  third  pre- 
tender, taller  by  a  head  than  his  brethren  in  im- 
pudence and  audacity.  But  it  is  all  in  vain. 
The  catholicons  and  panaceas,  the  elixirs  of 
health  and  the  vaunted  cure-alls  of  the  whole 


QUACKS.  49 

tribe  of  quack  doctors  are  not  more  surely  des- 
tined to  go  by  the  board,  than  are  the  various 
patented  would-be  reliefs  that  are  peddled  about 
by  spiritual  quacks,  male  and  female,  for  the 
behoof  of  fallen  humanity.  The  Bible  declares 
in  emphatic  terms,  that  men  are  dead  in  tres- 
passes and  sins,  and  universal  history  confirms 
the  awful  truth.  We  are  of  a  race  deep  in  love, 
not  with  holiness,  but  with  sin.  Carrion  does 
not  so  attract  the  keen  eye  and  the  keener  scent 
of  the  vulture,  the  mire  and  filth  of  the  cess- 
pool do  not  so  attract  the  tastes  and  propensi- 
ties of  the  swine,  as  sin  attracts  the  souls  of  men, 
and  draws  them  within  its  deadly  sphere.  The 
poison  is  infused  into  every  system.  The  spirit- 
ual vision  is  distorted.  Every  object  is  out  of 
its  place.  A  mole-hill  shoots  into  the  air  and 
assumes  the  huge  dimensions  of  a  mountain  ;  a 
mountain  dwindles  and  shrinks  to  a  mole-hill. 
Shadows  flit  across  the  brain  and  are  taken  for 
realities.  Fact  becomes  fiction,  and  fiction  fact. 
Could  rational  beings  be  deluded  so  by  anything 
but  sin  ?  Could  anything  else  so  deprave  the 
affections,  so  darken  the  understanding,  so  warp 
the  judgment?  Could  Dr.  Holmes  labor  under 
the  singular  hallucination  that  he,  poor  man,  had 
a  call  to  Americanize  the  Bible  ?     Could  Wen- 


50  COMPENSATORY   GRACE. 

dell  Phillips,  eloquent  in  the  cause  of  Jacobin- 
ism, keep  up  bis  blasphemous  tirades?  Could 
Brigham  Young  the  adulterer,  and  Judge  Ed- 
monds the  sorcerer,  and  Parker  Pillsbury  the 
apostate,  and  Theodore  Parker  the  pantheist, 
be  what  they  are,  if  the  doctrine  of  total  de- 
pravity were  not  founded  in  truth  ?  When  these 
persons  speak,  they  speak  as  their  nature 
prompts  them.  When  they  act,  they  act  na- 
ture. Brigham  Young  surrounded  by  the  con- 
cubines of  his  harem;  Theodore  Parker  de- 
riding faith  and  deifying  reason;  Judge  Ed- 
monds nightly  consulting  the  Devil  and  receiving 
oracular  responses;  Pillsbury,  Phillips,  Garri- 
son and  company  foaming  out  ribaldry  and 
atheism  as  often  as  the  fit  takes  them — is  all 
perfectly  natural. 

Let  us  now  come  back  to  the  Arminian  theory 
of  compensation.  This  curious  theory,  examined 
in  the  light  of  such  facts,  appears  excessively 
lame.  As  long  as  it  is  bolstered  up  between 
real  Gospel  truths,  it  makes  out  to  hobble  along; 
but  unsupported  in  this  way,  it  must  sink  down 
in  hopeless  imbecility.  Mr.  Watson  affirms  that 
we  all  came  into  the  world  with  natures  totally 
depraved,  and  he  affirms  what  is  true  ;  but  it  is 
not  true  that  ungodly  men  are  compensated  for 


COMPENSATORY   GRACE.  51 

the  loss  of  original  righteousness.  Where  is 
the  compensation  ?  Is  it  in  the  plan  of  salva- 
tion ?  But  that  is  not  a  scheme  of  compensa- 
tion. If  it  were,  each  sinner  would  be  entitled 
to  an  equal  share  with  his  fellow-sinners.  All 
suffered  alike  bj  the  fall,  and  if  the  represented 
human  race  was  unfairly  dealt  with — and  there 
is  reason  to  fear  that  Arminians  too  often 
secretly  think  so  —  all  would  have  an  equal 
claim  for  damages,  all  would  be  entitled  to  an 
equal  compensation.  This  is  one  of  the  plain- 
est dictates  of  common  sense,  and  as  the  Bible 
and  common  sense  go  hand  in  hand,  it  would 
also  be  one  of  the  plainest  dictates  of  the  Bible 
if  it  meant  to  set  forth  such  a  doctrine.  But 
such  an  idea  it  is  just  as  impossible  to  find  there 
as  it  is  to  find  the  terra  itself.  With  gi^ace,  in- 
deed, rich,  amazing,  infinite  grace,  the  Scriptures 
do  in  truth  overflow,  but  of  compensation  they 
know  nothing  whatsoever.  Now  to  a  share  of 
grace,  no  sinner,  be  he  who  he  may,  can  possibly 
have  a  valid  claim,  otherwise  grace  is  no  more 
grace.  ,  I  say  it  in  all  kindness,  but  it  is  one  of 
the  many  blunders  which  you  Arminians  commit, 
to  call  compensation  grace,  and  grace  compen- 
sation ;  words  standing  for  things  as  wide  apart 
as  the  poles.     The  grand  scheme  of  redemption 


52  COMPENSATION    A    FAILURE. 

is  founded  in  the  undeserved  mercj  and  goodness 
of  God;  why  then  do  your  preachers  put  it 
into  the  heads  of  the  people,  that  justice  re- 
quires compensation  to  be  made  to  the  posterity 
of  fallen  Adam  ?  Do  you  not  see  that  the  com- 
pensation, even  in  your  view  of  it,  does  not 
cover  the  loss  ?  Some  are  indeed  unspeakable 
gainers.  To  them  that  receive  abundance  of 
grace  and  of  the  gift  of  righteousness,  so  as  to 
reign  in  life  by  Jesus  Christ,  the  loss  is  more, 
vastly  more  than  made  up.  But  do  all  men  re- 
ceive abundance  of  grace  and  of  the  gift  of 
righteousness?  Will  all  men  reign  in  life  ?  Did 
Voltaire,  did  Yolney,  did  Gibbon,  did  Hume, 
did  Thomas  Paine,  did  Mirabeau,  did  Danton, 
did  Robespierre,  infidels  all,  receive  abundance 
of  grace  and  of  the  gift  of  righteousness  ?  and 
is  there  reason  to  believe  that  those  bitter  scof- 
fers are  now  reigning  in  life  with  Jesus  Christ  ? 
On  your  scheme,  the  most  hardened  sinner 
could  put  in  a  plea  against  God  himself:  "OLord, 
my  rights  were  invaded  before  I  was  born,  and, 
therefore,  I  reject  all  offers  of  compensation  ;  I 
demand  to  be  reinstated  in  my  original  rights ;  I 
commit  many  sins,  I  acknowledge,  but  as  these 
flow  from  a  nature  essentially  corrupt,  the  guilt 
must  not  lie  at  my  door.    Why  was  I  born  with 


COMPENSATION    A    FAILURE.  03 

such  a  nature  ?  I  have  been  misused.  It  is  true 
that  I  have  a  chance  of  being  saved;  a  Saviour 
has  been  provided ;  compensation  has  been 
made :  but  I  do  not  choose  to  accept  the  com- 
pensation;  I  will  stand  on  my  rights."  There 
are  but  few  men,  even  the  most  audacious  in 
wickedness,  who  would  venture  on  such  a  style 
of  address;  and  yet  this  is  just  the  style  of  that 
very  popular  book  among  Methodists,  Foster's 
"Objections  to  Calvinism.''  On  the  one  hun- 
dred and  sixty-sixth  page  of  that  most  singular 
work,  we  find  the  following  declaration  :  "  Sin- 
ners were  born  corrupt,  and  so  cannot  be  guilty 
for  this  ;  they  cannot  escape  from  corruption, 
and  so  are  not  guilty  for  remaining  in  it ; 
and,  therefore,  they  have  no  guilt  whatever  be- 
cause of  their  corruption.*'  What  words  of 
comfort !  how  cheering  !  how  very  precious  I 
In  acknowledgment  of  a  doctrine  so  full  of  con- 
solation, Parker  Pillsbury  might  say  :  "  My  lusts 
were  so  strong,  and  my  depravity  in  general  so 
great,  that  Christianity  lost  its  last  hold  on  me, 
and  I  tjimbled  into  the  blind  vortex  of  atheism. 
But  as  I  was  born  corrupt,  the  Rev.  R.  S.  Foster, 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  informs  me 
that  I  cannot  be  guilty  for  this.  Many  thanks 
for  the  information.''  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes 
6 


54  A   REAL   DILEMMA. 

might  say  with  truth :  "  My  pride  and  self-suffi- 
ciency were  so  inveterate  that  I  was  simple 
enough  to  propose  to  emasculate  the  Holy 
Scriptures,  in  order  to  give  my  countrymen  an 
Americanized  Bible.  But  insomuch  as  my  pride 
and  self-conceit  were  born  with  me,  good,  ortho- 
dox Dr.  Foster  has  most  conclusively  shown  that 
I  cannot  be  guilty  for  this."  Judge  Edmonds 
might  say  :  "I  despised  the  sacred  teachings  of 
God's  infallible  word,  and,  attempting  to  pry 
into  things  not  given  to  mortals  to  know,  fell 
into  the  snare  of  Satan.  The  result  was  those 
shocking  falsehoods  with  which  I  deceived  others 
and  was  deceived  myself  But  as  I  was  born 
with  such  propensities,  and  simply  obeyed  the 
dictates  of  my  corrupt  nature,  that  excellent  and 
most  trustworthy  Arminian  doctor.  Dr.  Foster, 
insists  that  I  cannot  be  guilty  for  this."  But 
how  the  doctrine  laid  down  by  Mr.  Watson  in 
his  Theological  Institutes — "  The  Arminian,  as 
fully  as  the  Calvinist,  admits  the  doctrine  of  the 
total  depravity  of  human  nature,  in  consequence 
of  the  fall  of  our  first  parents," — is  to  be  recon- 
ciled with  the  doctrine  laid  down  by  Mr.  Foster 
in  his  Objections  to  Calvinism — "  Sinners  were 
born  corrupt,  and  so  cannot  be  guilty  for  this ; 
they  cannot  escape  from  corruption,  and  so  are 


BIBLE   PORTRAITS.  55 

not  guilty  for  remaiuing  in  it ;  and,  therefore, 
they  have  no  guilt  whatever  because  of  their 
corruption," — how  these  two  conflicting  state- 
ments are  to  be  reconciled  with  each  other,  is  a 
problem  which  I  would  respectfully  hand  over  to 
your  next  General  Conference,  for  solution. 

John  Smith. 


LETTER    XL 

Dear  Brother  : — 

The  delineation  of  character  in  the  Bible,  like 
everything  else  found  there,  is  perfect.  Only  men 
of  genius,  or  inspired  men,  could  have  drawn  those 
master-pieces.  All  antiquity  had  but  one  Homer, 
and  modern  Christendom  has  not  furnished  three 
writers  able  to  sketch  such  life-like  characters  as 
we  have  in  the  Scriptures.  Memoirs  by  the 
dozen  are  annually  thrown  before  the  public ; 
but  which  of  them  delineate,  with  perfect  truth 
and  impartiality,  real  men  and  real  women  ? 
Look  at  Sprague^s  Annals  of  the  American 
Fulpit,  a  work  of  merit,  the  labor  of  more  than 
one  cultivated  mind,  the  labor  of  years.     Com- 


66  BIBLE   PORTRAITS. 

pare  now  with  these  the  biographical  sketches 
of  the  Bible.  Here  the  subjects  did  not  sit  for 
their  likeness,  prim  and  stiff  and  starched, 
combed  and  dressed  up  for  the  occasion;  they 
were  taken  just  as  they  appeared  in  every-day 
life.  The  deformities  as  well  as  the  excellencies, 
what  was  good  and  what  was  bad,  the  striking 
faults  and  the  striking  virtues,  are  all  before  us. 
We  blush  to  hear  Abram  tell  a  lie ;  we  are 
shocked  to  see  Noah  drunk ;  we  stand  con- 
founded at  the  flagrant  adultery  of  David ; 
Peter's  fall,  and  the  cowardice  of  James  and 
John  take  us  by  surprise  ;  and  we  wonder  at' 
Paul  and  Barnabas  getting  into  a  quarrel. 
Unlike  modern  character-mongers,  the  Bible 
presents  us  with  one  and  but  one  perfect  por- 
trait, and  that  portrait  is  perfect  only  because 
the  Great  Original  was  absolutely  perfect. 

Equally  clear  and  correct  is  the  picture  of 
human  nature  in  general.  The  outlines  are 
bold  and  distinct ;  the  touches  remarkably  sim- 
ple and  striking,  representing  the  thing  itself  to 
the  life.  The  whole  is  of  a  dark  and  gloomy 
aspect.  Men  do  not  love  God.  They  refuse  to 
put  their  trust  in  Him,  They  neglect  His  glory. 
There  is  no  desire  to  please  Him,  and  while  His 
favor  has  no  attractions,  His  wrath  inspires  no 


SEARCH    FOR   HAPPINESS.  57 

dread.  Rebellion  is  the  rule,  obedience  the  ex- 
ception ;  and  the  exception  has  its  root,  never 
in  nature,  but  always  in  grace.  Native-born, 
loving  and  obedient  children,  there  are  abso- 
lutely none.  All  are  children  of  disobedience 
by  habit,  by  the  force  of  example,  and,  by  what 
is  more  powerful  than  habit  or  example,  ly 
nature.  In  search  of  happiness,  the  bowels  of 
the  earth  are  torn  open,  the  ocean's  depths  are 
sounded,  the  blue  vault  of  the  sky  is  pierced ; 
but  happiness  is  nowhere  to  be  found.  The 
whole  universe,  in  all  its  lengths  and  breadths, 
in  all  its  heights  and  depths,  is  not  of  dimensions 
vast  enough  to  fill  the  fatal  void  effected  by  the 
agency  of  sin.     Such  is  fallen  human  nature. 

The  Arminian  theory  virtually  makes  God 
the  author  of  all  this  evil.  Arminians  them- 
selves would,  indeed,  repel  such  a  charge.  This 
is  readily  conceded,  but  the  theory  that  under- 
lies the  doctrine  of  compensation  is  obnoxious 
to  this  grave  charge.  Pelagianism  and  natural- 
ism, whose  God  is  not  our  holy  Lord  God,  re- 
ject th«  doctrine  of  original  sin,  and,  as  a  matter 
of  course,  reject  the  arguments  by  which  it  is 
established.  You,  on  the  other  hand,  receive 
the  doctrine,  but  impugn,  not  directly,  but 
indirectly,  the  Divine  goodness  and  justice. 
6* 


58  INNOCENT   GUILT. 

Armiiiians  profess  to  hold,  in  the  fullest  sense, 
the  depravity  of  human  nature,  and  then  with 
strange  inconsistency  contend  that  men  are  not 
to  blame  for  their  depravity.  But  surely  some- 
body must  be  to  blame  for  such  a  fearful  state  of 
things.  There  is  guilt,  deep  guilt  somewhere. 
Totally  depraved,  yet  without  guilt !  A  race 
of  totally  depraved  innocent  creatures !  This 
sounds  odd  enough.  But  listen  to  what  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Foster  has  to  say  on  this  point.  He 
is  boldly  contending  that  every  human  being  is 
entitled  to  a  share  of  grace,  and  takes  the  sin- 
ner's part  in  the  following  style  :  "  Let  it  not 
be  said  he  (the  sinner)  brought  this  disability 
upon  himself.  If  this  were  so,  it  would  relieve 
the  case.  But  this  is  not  the  fact.  This  dis- 
ability came  with  him  into  the  world,  it  was 
communicated  as  a  part  of  his  existence,  it  was 
his  very  and  essential  nature.  And  now  was  he 
to  blame  for  an  existence  and  nature  which  were 
forced  on  him;  which  he  never,  at  any  period, 
consented  to,  and  which  he  never  could  avoid  ?"* 
This  is  certainly  very  plain  talk.  Theodore 
Parker  could  hardly  beat  it.  Natural  depravity 
and  rebellion  against  God  have  found  an  able 

*  Objections  to  Calv.    Art.  Effectual  Calling. 


INNOCENT   GUILT.  59 

champion  and  a  fearless  defender  in  Dr.  Fos- 
ter. Let  us  look  at  facts.  Rebellion  against 
Heaven's  High  King  has  been  inaugurated  on  a 
tremendous  scale  in  our  planet.  The  rebellion 
has  its  root  and  origin  in  the  awful  depravity  of 
the  heart.  Men  are  rebels  from  fixed  choice. 
Their  whole  souls  turn  away  with  loathing  from 
the  hateful  rule  of  their  rightful  Lord  and  Sov- 
ereign. In  this  they  are  warmly  defended. 
"  Had  they  anything  whatever  to  do  in  making 
that  corrupt  nature  ?"  asks  the  author  of  "  Ob- 
jections to  Calvinism."  Thus  the  sinner,  it 
seems,  is  not  even  to  take  to  himself  the  smallest 
share  of  guilt.  He  is  spotless  as  innocence  itself. 
"  Was  he  to  blame  for  an  existence  and  nature 
which  were  forced  on  him?"  This  is  a  very 
significant  question.  A  corrupt  nature  forced 
on  the  poor  sinner  !  Who,  then,  according  to 
Dr.  Foster,  is  to  blame  for  this  depraved  na- 
ture ?  Be  astonished,  0  ye  heavens,  it  is  no 
other  than  God  himself !  Thus  God  is  virtually 
made  the  author  of  sin  by  the  advocates  of 
Arminianism. 

What  Dr.  Foster's  real  sentiments  are  I  cannot 
tell ;  but  when  he  has  Calvinism  to  fight  against, 
he  stoutly  maintains  that  there  is  nothing  worthy 
of  blame  in  the  desperate  enmity  of  the  carnal 


60  INNOCENT    GUILT. 

mind  against  the  holiness  of  God.  Now  he 
either  believes  that  we  are  guilty  for  being  cor- 
rupt and  depraved,  or  he  does  not.  If  he  be- 
lieves that  we  are  guilty  for  being  depraved  and 
corrupt,  he  is  not  an  honest  man,  because  he 
argues  against  his  own  belief.  If  he  believes 
that  we  are  not  guilty  for  being  depraved  and 
corrupt,  he  makes  God  the  author  of  sin. 

Do  you  say  that  the  Methodist  Church  ought 
not  to  be  answerable  for  the  absurdities  and 
extravagancies  of  one  man  ?  But  is  not  his 
work  printed  at  one  of  your  Book  Concerns  ? 
Has  it  not  the  indorsement  of  one  of  your 
bishops  ?  And  is  it  not  found  lying  in  the  book- 
case of  every  Methodist  preacher  ?  So  that, 
after  all,  Mr.  Foster  stands  not  alone  in  this 
matter.  He  is  one  of  a  multitude.  Not  all  the 
steam-presses  in  America  could  print  the  end- 
less harangues,  the  tropes,  the  rant  and  fustian 
delivered  from  Arminian  pulpits  against  Cal- 
vinists,  for  maintaining  that  human  nature,  fallen 
and  depraved,  is  guilty,  dreadfully  guilty  before 
God.  Why  is  it  that  we  are  to  be  so  abused, 
because  we  charge  home  on  men  themselves  and 
not  on  God,  the  guilt  where  it  belongs  ?  I  will 
close  this  letter  by  asking  another  question : 
Did  you  ever  know  or  hear  of  a  Methodist  min- 


SHORT   CUT.  61 

ister,  either  in  this  country  or  in  Europe,  or  in 
any  other  quarter  of  the  globe,  who  has  been 
known  to  proclaim,  openly  and  honestly  to  the 
world,  that  human  depravity  is  but  another 
name  for  human  guilt,  and  that  God  might  with 
perfect  righteousness  have  left  the  whole  race 
to  perish  without  a  Saviour  ?  If  such  a  Meth- 
odist minister  is  anywhere  to  be  found,  I  would 
be  most  happy  to  make  his  acquaintance. 

John  Smith. 


LETTER    XII.  • 

Dear  Brother  : — 

"As  we  sinned  only  seminally  in  Adam,  if 
God  had  not  intended  our  redemption.  His 
goodness  would  have  engaged  Him  to  destroy 
us  seminally,  by  crushing  the  capital  offender 
who  contained  us  all,  so  there  would  have  been 
a  just  .proportion  between  the  sin  and  punish- 
ment."* So  says  the  Rev.  John  Fletcher,  one 
of  the  great  lights  of  Arminian  Methodism. 

*  Third  Check.     Vol.  i.  p.  146. 


62  SHORT   CUT. 

"Had  Christ  not  undertaken  human  redemp- 
tion, we  have  no  proof,  no  indication  in  Scrip- 
ture, that  for  Adam's  sin  any  but  the  actually 
guilty  pair  would  have  been  doomed  to  con- 
demnation." So  says  the  Rev.  Richard  Wat- 
son, a  standard  theologian  of  your  denomina- 
tion. "  Had  not  God  provided  a  Redeemer, 
He  no  doubt  would  have  terminated  the  whole 
mortal  story,  by  cutting  off  the  original  trans- 
gressors." So  says  Dr.  Adam  Clarke,  whom  all 
Methodists  delight  to  honor.  These  writers, 
when  they  say  this,  seem  to  .think  that  they 
have  taken  a  short  cut  through  a  tangled 
thicket.  Instead,  however,  of  relieving  the  dif- 
ficulty, the  short  cut  leads  to  a  trackless  wilder- 
ness. We  see  here  the  shifts  to  which  able 
minds,  overlooking  the  plain  teachings  of  the 
Bible,  are  reduced.  The  doctrine  taught  in 
these  quotations  is,  that  mankind  were  not  in 
reality  represented  by  Adam.  If  Adam  fell,  we 
were  not  to  come  into  existence  at  all,  we  were 
to  remain  a  mere  nonentity,  a  mere  nothing. 
But  how  could  sin  be  imputed  to  mere  nonentity, 
to  mere  nothing  ?  How  could  death  pass  on 
mere  nonentity,  on  mere  nothing  ?  Sometimes 
you  maintain  that  the  whole  human  race  were 
represented  by  Adam  as  their  federal  head,  and 


GRACE   AND   DEPRAVITY.  63 

were  like  him  exposed  to  death,  temporal,  spirit- 
ual, and  eternal.  "  The  first  consequence,"  says 
Mr.  Watson,  "  of  this  imputation  is  the  death 
of  the  body,  to  which  all  the  descendants  of 
Adam  are  made  liable,  and  that  on  account  of 

the  sin  of  Adam The  second  consequence 

is  death  spiritual,  that  moral  state  which  arises 
from  the  withdrawment  of  that  intercourse  of 
God  with  the  human  soul,  in  consequence  of  its 

becoming  polluted The  third  consequence 

is  eternal  death,  separation  from  God  and  end- 
less banishment  from  His  glory  in  a  future  state." 
At  other  times  you  are  ready  to  ask,  in  the 
language  of  Mr.  Foster,  "How  can  we  be  to 
blame  for  a  sin  committed  thousands  of  years 
ago  by  our  ancestor  ?  How  could  we  be  justly 
exposed  to  punishment  for  that  to  which  we  did 
not  and  could  not  give  our  assent,  and  over 
which  we  had  no  more  control  than  the  Angel 
Gabriel  ?"  How,  it  may  be  asked,  does  it  hap- 
pen that  the  same  denomination  believes  that  it 
would  be  the  height  of  injustice  to  permit  a 
whole  race  to  come  into  the  world  totally  de^ 
praved  and  corrupt,  on  account  of  Adam's  sin, 
and  that  a  whole  race  does,  nevertheless,  as  a 
matter  of  fact,  come  into  the  world  totally  de- 
praved and  corrupt,  on  account  of  Adam's  sin  ? 


64  GRACE    AND    DEPRAVITY. 

The  glaring  inconsistency  of  this  is  known  and 
felt,  and  to  any  but  an  Arrainian  the  difSculties  of 
adjustment  would  appear  insurmountable.  The 
fertility  of  Arminian  ingenuity  has,  however,  de- 
vised a  most  ingenious  solution  of  the  difficulty. 
Grace  brings  a  race  of  sinners  into  existence, 
which  justice  required  to  be  left,  and  which  jus- 
tice, had  not  mercy  interfered,  would  actually 
have  left  in  non-existence.  But  for  the  Saviour 
Adam  and  Eve  would  have  been  the  only  sin- 
ners in  the  world.  He  died,  and  the  result  has 
been  literally  a  world  full  of  sinners.  The  ad- 
vent of  the  Redeemer  had,  as  your  theory  indi- 
cates, a  twofold  design  :  first  to  bring  a  non- 
existent race  of  totally  depraved  creatures  into 
being,  and  then  to  save  as  many  as  possible  of 
these  depraved  creatures,  who  otherwise  would 
never  and  could  never  have  been  depraved 
creatures  at  all.  Justice  would  have  annihilated 
the  posterity  of  Adam.  Grace  reproduced 
Adam's  posterity,  and  reproduced  them  a  race 
of  sinners,  with  the  offer  of  pardon  and  life  set 
before  them,  Grace  makes  all  men  sinners,  in 
order  to  make  it  possible  for  all  men  to  be 
saved.  It  is  something  like  this  ;  Suppose  a 
man  that  has  violated  no  law,  and  done  no 
wrong,  should  be  sentenced  to  die  on  the  gal- 


GRACE   AND   DEPRAVITY.  65 

lows.  Suppose  further,  however,  that  a  knife 
is  put  in  the  hand  of  this  innocent  person,  and 
that  he  is  told,  "  Sir,  you  have  been  sentenced 
to  die  an  ignominious  death  on  the  scaffold 
before  you.  It  is  true,  indeed,  that  you  have 
done  nothing  to  merit  such  a  punishment,  but 
still  you  have  no  right  to  impeach  the  goodness 
and  integrity  of  the  court,  since  there  is  a 
chance  for  you  to  cut  the  rope  with  this  knife, 
and  to  run  for  your  life."  This  is  a  simple,  and 
not  unfair  illustration  of  the  Arminian  theory  of 
the  fall.  The  human  race  are  in  strict  justice 
innocent,  absolutely  innocent  of  the  sin  of  Adam. 
Dr.  Foster's  wrath  is  stirred,  and  he  indignantly 
asks  how  we  could  be  to  blame  for  a  sin  com- 
mitted by  another  before  we  were  born.  The 
sin  of  Adam  is,  nevertheless,  imputed  to  all 
mankind.  The  consequence  is  that  the  race,  by 
hundreds  and  thousands  of  millions,  comes  into 
the  world  with  bodies  doomed  to  the  grave, 
with  souls  already  dead  in  sin,  and  in  imminent 
and  awful  danger  of  eternal  damnation.  A 
Saviour,  has  been  provided  for  those  who  ought 
never  to  have  been  permitted  to  come  into  thIS 
world ;  and  your  writers  and  preachers  main- 
tain that  now  no  man  has  a  right  to  impeach 
the  Divine  justice,  a  way  of  escape  from  im- 


66  DOOR   OR   DUNGEON. 

pending  ruin  being  opened  to  all.  Permit 
me  to  set  forth  the  inconsistencies  of  the  Ar- 
minian  theory  on  this  subject  by  another  illus- 
tration. A  multitude  of  poor  wretched  creatures 
find  themselves  in  a  dark  and  noisome  dungeon. 
A  door  of  escape  from  the  dreadful  prison  stands 
wide  open.  Now  it  certainly  makes  some  dif- 
ference, whether  the  dungeon  is  built  for  the 
sake  of  the  door  of  escape,  or  the  door  of  escape 
is  made  for  the  sake  of  the  dungeon.  You  hold 
the  former,  we  believe  in  the  latter.  It  certainly 
makes  some  difference  also,  whether  the  miserable 
inmates  are  entirely  free  of  guilt,  and  are  thrust 
into  prison  merely  for  the  purpose  of  giving 
them  a  chance  to  make  good  their  escape,  or 
whether  the  law  finds  them  really  guilty  and 
deserving  punishment.  Arminians  take  the 
former  ground,  we  take  the  latter.  We  con- 
tend that  the  Divine  law  found  the  whole  race 
of  Adam  guilty,  grace  or  no  grace,  salvation  or 
no  salvation.  "By  one  man  sin  entered  into 
the  world,  and  death  by  sin,  and  so  death  passed 
on  all  men,  for  that  all  have  sinned."  So  say 
the  Scriptures,  and  the  Scriptures  cannot  err. 
The  law  of  God,  who  is  a  Being  infinitely  right- 
eous and  infinitely  wise,  would  never,  no  never, 
have  passed  sentence  of  condemnation  on  all 


god's  supremacy.  67 

the  generations  of  Adam,  had  such  a  sentence 
been  in  any  proper  sense  unjust  in  itself.  It 
must  have  been  right  and  just  that  all  mankind 
should  be  made  sinners  by  the  disobedience  of 
one  man,  or  the  Holy  Ghost  would  never  have 
asserted  the  astounding  fact.  Let  God  be  true 
and  every  man  a  liar.  On  this  rock  we  build 
an  impregnable  fortress.  The  fact  that  I,  or 
you,  or  Mr.  Foster,  or  Dr.  Whedon,  or  this 
philosopher,  or  that  theologian,  cannot  grasp 
this  subject,  is  little  to  the  point.  The  ad- 
ministration of  this  world,  we  should  never  for- 
get, is  safely  lodged  in  the  hands  of  Him  who 
does  nothing  but  what  is  right,  and  who  in  tones 
of  lofty  rebuke  says  to  us  all,  "  Be  still  and 
know  that  I  am  God;"  "As  the  heavens  are 
higher  than  the  earth,  so  are  my  ways  higher 
than  your  ways,  and  my  thoughts  than  your 

thoughts." 

John  Smith. 


68  PARALLELISMS. 


LETTER   XIII. 


Dear  Brother: — 

This  letter,  which  shall  not  be  a  long  one, 
will  be  a  letter  of  parallelisms.  According  to 
the  Scriptures,  Christ  came  to  save  sinners,  who 
not  only  actually  existed,  but  who  would  have 
been  in  actual  existence  had  He  never  conde- 
scended to  lay  down  His  life  for  them.  Accord- 
ing to  Arminianism,  Christ  came  to  save  sinners, 
who,  had  He  not  laid  down  His  life,  would  never 
have  been  sinners  at  all,  because  they  never 
would  have  been  brought  into  existence.  The 
fundamental  idea  of  the  Bible  is,  that  the  mys- 
terious dispensation  under  which  all  men  were 
made  sinners  was,  independently  of  grace,  a 
righteous  dispensation.  The  fundamental  idea 
of  Arminianism  is,  that  the  dispensation  under 
which  all  men  were  made  sinners  was  not,  inde- 
pendently of  grace,  a  righteous  dispensation. 
The  fundamental  idea  of  Scripture  is,  that  Jesus 
came  to  save  sinners,  who  would  certainly  have 
existed,  and  who  would  as  certainly  have  been 
lost,  had  He  not  shed  His  blood  for  them.    The 


PARALLELISMS.  b^ 

fundamental  idea  of  Arminianism  is,  that  Christ 
died  for  sinners,  who  but  for  His  death  would 
never  in  fact  have  existed  ;  and  who,  having  no 
existence,  could  not  possibly  be  lost.  Accord- 
ing to  the  Scriptures,  all  men  would  have  per- 
ished had  not  Christ  died.  According  to 
Arminianism,  if  Christ  had  not  died,  none,  ex- 
cept Adam  and  Eve,  would  have  perished. 
According  to  the  teachings  of  the  Bible,  the 
Saviour  died  for  real  sinners.  According  to 
the  teachings  of  Arminianism,  Christ  died  for 
real  sinners  too,  but  they  had,  in  the  first  in- 
stance, to  be  brought  into  existence  as  sinners, 
by  grace. 

Let  me  now,  my  brother,  apply  the  Arminian 
theory,  by  way  of  interpretation,  to  the  fifth 
chapter  of  Romans.  By  one  man  sin  entered 
into  the  world,  and  death  by  sin,  and  death 
ought  to  have  passed  on  him  alone,  since  he 
alone  was  guilty ;  nevertheless,  by  grace,  death 
passed  also  on  all  men,  for,  through  grace,  all 
have  sinned.  For  as  by  one  man's  disobedience, 
only  that  man  himself  could,  on  all  the  princi- 
ples of  justice  and  right,  be  regarded  as  a  sinner, 
nevertheless,  through  grace,  all  men  were  also 
made  sinners.  Therefore,  as  by  the  offense  of 
one,  judgment  came  in  reality  only  on  himself, 


70  PARALLELISMS. 

and  could  come  only  on  himself,  in  accordance 
with  all  the  requirements  of  simple,  straight- 
forward justice;  yet  by  grace,  through  the  of- 
fense of  one,  judgment  actually  came  also  upon 
all  men  unto  condemnation.  Thus,  if  it  were  not 
for  grace,  there  would  be  no  sin  in  the  world, 
because  there  would  be  no  sinners ;  and  there 
would  be  no  sinners,  because,  as  you  argue,  the 
human  race  would  never  have  been  permitted  to 
exist  at  all.  Thus  we  see  what  grace,  in  the 
Arminiau  view  of  it,  has  done  for  mankind. 
Nor  is  this  all  that  grace  has  accomplished  ;  all 
the  wicked  acts  perpetrated  in  the  world  are 
likewise  due  to  grace,  in  accordance  with  the 
well-known  Arminiau  axiom,  that  where  there  is 
no  grace  bestowed,  there  can  be  no  responsibil- 
ities. By  grace,  then,  men  do  good,  and  by 
grace  they  do  evil.  By  grace  they  glorify  God, 
and  by  grace  they  serve  the  Devil.  By  grace 
Moses  was  the  deliverer  of  Israel,  and  by  grace 
Pharaoh  was  their  persecutor  and  oppressor. 
By  grace  Peter  was  an  Apostle,  and  by  grace 
Judas  was  an  apostate.  By  grace  Luther  was 
a  reformer,  and  by  grace  Yoltaire  was  a  blas- 
phemer. By  grace  Richard  Baxter  was  the 
author  of  the  "Saint's  Rest,"  and  by  grace  the 
Rev.  Dr.  R.  S.  Foster  is  the  author  of  "Objec- 
tions to  Calvinism." 


CALVINISM.  Tl 

The  different  views  of  human  nature  taken  by 
Calvinists,  Arminians,  and  Pelagians  furnish 
an  interesting  subject  of  speculation.  Accord- 
ing to  Pelagianism,  men  are  sinners  only  by 
practice.  According  to  Calvinism,  men  are 
sinners  by  practice  and  by  nature.  According 
to  Arrainianism,  men  are  sinners  by  practice,  by 
nature,  and  by  grace. 

John  Smith. 


LETTER  XIV. 

Dear  Brother: — 

It  is  the  peculiar  glory  of  the  great  system 
of  truth  styled  Calvinism,  that  it  exalts  the  Di- 
vine attributes  of  justice  and  mercy.  In  our 
theology,  GOD  is  on  the  throne.  The  creature 
is  taught  to  know  his  place.  The  sinner,  un- 
worthy to  lift  his  eyes  from  the  ground,  stands 
self-convicted  in  the  presence  of  Infinite  Holi- 
ness, and  humbly  sues  for  pardon.  In  our  ears 
the  thunders  of  Sinai  roll  with  a  majesty  more 
awful,  the  dying  accents  of  the  mighty  Sufferer 
on  Calvary  have  a  richer  and  sweeter  tone,  and 
salvation  has  a  depth  and  comprehensiveness  of 


72  FROG   POND. 

meaning  greater  by  far  than  is  known  to  any 
other  theological  system.  We  stand  amazed  at 
God's  unmerited  goodness;  we  cannot  compre- 
hend how  He  could  be  moved  to  pity  for  a  race 
so  sunk  in  depravity  and  guilt.  To  many,  our 
expressions  of  wonder,  love,  and  praise  appear 
extravagant  and  even  foolish.  It  is  not,  how- 
ever, difficult  to  account  for  this.  By  salva- 
tion we  mean  one  thing  and  they  mean  another 
thing.  Between  the  Atlantic  Ocean  and  a  mill 
pond  the  difference  is  very  great;  but  the  differ- 
ence is  not  so  great  as  the  vast  interval  between 
the  grace  of  the  Bible  and  the  grace  held  forth 
in  certain  modern  pulpits. 

This  illustration  recalls  the  scenes  of  child- 
hood. You  cannot  have  forgotten,  brother,  the 
pond  near  our  father's  house,  which  we  boys  used 
to  call  the  Pacific  Ocean.  It  was  certainly  a 
very  big  name  for  a  very  little  body  of  water. 
Do  you  remember  the  sea  captain  who  once 
stayed  in  the  family  some  two  or  three  days,  and 
entertained  us  so  much  with  an  account  of  his 
voyages?  While  he  was  portraying  the  gran- 
deur of  the  mighty  Pacific,  we  were  all  the  while 
thinking  on  our  frog  pond.  When,  in  glowing 
language,  he  described  the  enormous  swell  of 
mountain  waves  threatening  to  engulf  his  ship, 


FROG   POND.  T3 

our  pine  shingle  craft  scudding  over  the  ripples 
of  our  little  ocean  was  before  us ;  the  monstrous 
whales  and  sharks  of  which  he  spoke  reminded 
us  of  our  polliwogs  and  tadpoles  ;  and  while  he 
talked  about  depths  which  the  longest  line  had 
never  measured — why,  we  could  touch  the  bot- 
tom of  our  Pacific,  anywhere,  with  a  broom- 
handle. 

That  frog  pond  furnishes  a  striking  and  useful 
analogy.  There  are  men  in  whose  view  nothing 
is  infallible  except  their  own  judgments.  Where 
their  reason  falters,  all  reason  stops;  when  their 
lead  has  touched  bottom,  there  are  no  depths 
beyond.  Such  persons  regard  themselves  spe- 
cially qualified  to  sit  in  judgment  on  the  ways 
of  God,  and  authoritatively  to  pronounce  what 
belongs  to  Him  and  what  does  not  belong  to 
Him ;  what  He  may  do  and  what  He  may  not 
do.  At  the  head  of  this  set  of  profound  think- 
ers stands  the  ex-reverend  Ralph  Waldo  Emer- 
son, the  worshiper  and  echo  of  Thomas  Car- 
lyle  ;  nor  does  he  stand  alone.  The  mention  of 
such  a  >name  readily  supplies  the  imagination 
with  a  long  line  of  worthies,  ex-reverend  and 
ex-Christian,  male  and  female,  with  now  and 
then  a  so-called  reverend  and  so  called  Chris- 
tian, whose  frog  pond  casts  the  Pacific  Ocean 
altogether  into  the  background. 


74  LIBERALISM. 

But  to  come  back  from  figure.  Do  not  sup- 
pose that  I  am  classing  Arminian  Methodists 
with  such  errorists.  This  I  would  not  dare  to 
do.  But  there  is  one  thing  I  do  not  hesitate  to 
do;  I  do  not  hesitate  to  charge  you  with 
giving  aid  and  comfort  to  the  enemies  of  the 
"Lord  Jesus  Christ,  our  common  Master.  We 
never  take  sides  with  them  against  you ;  I  wish 
I  could  say  that  you  never  take  sides  with  them 
against  us.  That  persons  ignorant  of  the 
Scriptures  and  of  the  power  of  God,  that  the 
declaimers,  who  from  week  to  week  advertise 
speeches  called  sermons,  to  be  preached  for 
clap-trap,  because  they  have  nothing  to  say 
about  a  crucified  and  exalted  Redeemer,  should 
set  a  low  value,  or  no  value  at  all,  on  the  grace 
of  God,  is  not  at  all  surprising.  The  stream 
cannot  well  rise  higher  than  its  source.  We  do 
not  look  for  salvation  by  grace  in  the  harangues 
of  the  Rev.  M.  D.  Conway,  "liberal  Unitarian," 
nor  in  those  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Chapin,  "liberal 
Universalist,"  and  we  do  not  expect  much  in 
the  discourses  of  the  Rev.  Henry  Ward  Beecher, 
"liberal  Congregationalist,"  who  delights  to 
hold  sweet  communion  with  the  haters  of  ortho- 
doxy. But  the  world  has  a  right  to  look  for 
better  things  from  a  denomination  that  claims 
to  be  founded  in  grace  itself. 


CAUSE   AND   EFFECT.  t-5 

In  spite  of  this  claim,  however,  it  is  a  peculiar 
feature  of  Armiuiauism  that  salvation  is  not  so 
much  a  matter  of  wonder  as  a  matter  of  course. 
It  is  just  what  might  have  been  and  ought  to 
have  been  expected.  It  would  rather  be  a  won- 
der if  there  were  no  Saviour.  The  fact  that 
this  planet  is  peopled  by  an  order  of  creatures 
dead  in  trespasses  and  sins,  is,  according  to 
your  way  of  thinking,  of  itself  a  sufficient  rea- 
son to  expect  that  something  should  be  done 
for  them.  In  the  Arminian  code,  the  fall  of 
man  and  the  redemption  of  Christ  sustain  the 
relation  of  cause  and  effect.  They  are  insepar- 
ably and  necessarily  connected,  so  that  the  one 
cannot  be  regarded  as  existing  without  the 
other.  We  hold,  indeed,  that  if  there  were  no 
fallen  men,  there  would  be  no  Redeemer;  but 
you  hold,  also,  that  if  there  were  no  Redeemer, 
there  would  be  no  fallen  men.  The  work  of 
Adam  and  the  work  of  Christ  you  look  upon 
as  two  inseparable  parts  of  a  grand  whole. 
The  work  of  Christ,  it  is  true,  you  designate  to 
be  a  work  of  grace,  but  it  is  grace  which  both 
the  honor  of  God  and  strict  justice  required 
should  not  be  withheld.  This  is  strange  enough. 
You  might,  with  the  same  show  of  reason,  main- 
tain that  the  miasm  which  engenders  chill  fever, 


76  NO   PHYSICIANS   NO   DISEASES. 

and  quinine  which  breaks  the  chills,  are  to  be 
regarded  as  necessary  parts  of  each  other.  The 
disease  and  the  remedy,  sin  and  grace,  rebellion 
and  pardon,  one  and  inseparable ! 

Let  us  look  a  little  longer  on  this.  If  there 
were  no  sinners,  there  would  be  no  Saviour; 
this  is  what  both  you  and  we  believe.  If  there 
were  no  Saviour,  there  would  also  be  no  sinners  ; 
this  is  what  only  you  and  not  we  believe.  If 
there  were  no  bodily  diseases  in  the  world,  there 
would  be  no  physicians ;  this  represents  Cal- 
vinism. If  there  were  no  physicians  in  the 
world,  there  would  be  no  bodily  diseases ;  this 
represents  Arminianism.  "  Had  not  God  pro- 
vided a  Redeemer,"  says  Dr.  Clarke,  "  He  would 
have  finished  the  whole  mortal  story,  by  cutting 
off  the  original  transgressors."  But  God  did 
provide  a  Saviour,  and  the  mortal  story,  with  its 
dreadful  tale  of  sin  and  suffering,  has  been  con- 
tinued to  the  present  hour.  Had  no  Saviour 
been  provided,  there  would  be  no  sinners.  A 
Saviour  has  been  provided,  and  the  sands  of  the 
sea  cannot  equal  the  number  of  rebels  and  sin- 
ners, whose  crimes  and  misdeeds  have  cursed 
the  earth.  But  if  the  fall  of  man  and  redemp- 
tion by  Christ  are  to  be  viewed  as  two  insepar- 
able parts  of  a  stupendous  whole  ;  if  the  former 


NO   PHYSICIANS    NO   DISEASES.  17 

is  never  to  be  contemplated  except  in  connec- 
tion with  the  latter ;  if  justice  demanded  that 
salvation  must  be  provided  for  a  race  of  lost  sin- 
ners; if  God  must  send  His  Son;  if  Christ  must 
die  to  make  compensation  for  the  loss  sustained 
by  Adam, — what,  I  ask,  what  becomes  of  the 
great  doctrine  of  salvation  by  grace  ?  If  I  were 
an  Arminian,  I  do  not  see  how  I  could  celebrate 
in  terms  of  lofty  praise  the  goodness  and  mercy 
of  God.  The  farthest  I  could  go,  I  think,  would 
be  to  say,  "  We  are  indeed  born  with  natures 
depraved  and  corrupt,  but  we  have  now  no  right 
to  complain,  since  compensation  has  been  made 
by  thine  only  begotten  Son  for  the  loss  sustained 
by  Adam.  We  thank  Thee  for  this  act  of  jus- 
tice. But  if  Thou  hadst  left  us  where,  by  put- 
ting us  on  trial  in  our  federal  head,  Thou  didst 
permit  us  to  be  brought;  if  Thou  hadst  not 
made  good  this  loss ;  if  compensation  had  not 
been  rendered ;  if  Thou  hadst  left  mankind  to 
perish  in  their  sins," — brother,  I  dare  not  ad- 
dress my  holy  Sovereign  in  the  language  of  the 
Arminiivn  creed;  you  dare  not,  your  writers  and 
preachers  dare  not  do  it.  I  may  be  mistaken, 
but  I  will  venture  the  assertion  that  even  Dr. 
Foster  himself  dares  not  do  it. 

John  Smith. 
8 


THE   REV.  JOHN   JONES. 


LETTER    XY. 


Dear  Brother: — 

The  Rev.  John  Jones  is,  by  the  appointment 
of  your  Conference,  one  of  my  clerical  neigh- 
bors. With  agreeable  manners,  he  seems  to 
possess  also  good  qualities  of  mind  and  heart. 
His  talents,  however,  he  himself  appears  to 
think  shine  to  the  best  advantage  in  the  line  of 
controversy;  and  whenever  this  brother  feels 
like  exercising  his  talents  at  sharp  shooting, 
Calvinism  is  commonly  the  favorite  target. 
Many  an  arrow  dipped  in  gall  he  lets  fly,  on 
such  occasions,  against  election,  against  predes- 
tination, against  the  perseverance  of  the  saints, 
against  the  Divine  sovereignty ;  but  the  strong- 
est bow  is  bent,  the  bitterest  arrow  is  adjusted, 
the  deadliest  aim  is  directed  against  "the  hor- 
rible doctrine  of  infant  damnation."  If  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Jones  stood  alone  in  this  matter,  if 
he  were  the  only  one  among  his  brethren  that 
resorted  to  such  tricks,  his  name  would  not  ap- 
pear at  the  head  of  this  letter.  He  is,  however, 
only  one  of  many.  Such  tricks  are,  it  is  to  be 
feared,  but  too  well  knowji  to  the  majority  of 


THE   REV.  JOHN   JONES.  t9 

Methodist  preachers.  When  Unitarians  or  Uni- 
versalists  strive  to  excite  odium  against  our 
doctrines,  wicked  as  are  their  aims,  there  is  at 
least  no  inconsistency  in  their  wickedness. 
They  are  known  and  recognized  as  enemies  of  the 
cross  of  Christ.  The  doctrines  of  redemption  are 
to  them  little  better  than  doctrines  of  humbug. 
Even  the  salvation  of  adults,  in  their  creeds, 
requires  little  or  no  grace ;  the  salvation  of 
infants,  absolutely  none  at  all.  Now  it  has  been 
often  remarked  that  the  spiritual  guides  in  your 
church  seldom,  some  of  them  never,  take  to 
task  the  errorists  who  claim  salvation  for  in- 
fants, 7iot  as  a  matter  of  pure  grace,  but  as  a 
matter  of  simple  justice.  If  fault  is  found  at 
all,  it  is  in  soft  and  honeyed  phrase ;  while 
neither  Webster  nor  Worcester  can  furnish  all 
the  adjectives  and  nouns  set  in  array  against 
Calvinists  for  believing  that  infants,  like  adults, 
are  lost,  and  can  be  saved  only  by  God's  un- 
speakable mercy.  This  secret  sympathy  with 
the  enemies  of  grace,  and  this  vituperation  of 
the  advocates  of  grace,  has  long  been  a  re- 
proach to  the  Methodist  Episcopal  ministry. 
A  Universalist  champion,  setting  out  to  attack 
the  Calvinistic  doctrine  of  infant  salvation, 
should  he  run  short,  of  arguments,  has  but  to 


80  INFANT   SALVATION. 

borrow  the  logic  and  rhetoric  of  the  nearest 
Methodist  pulpit ;  or,  if  he  desires  to  see  how 
his  own  sentiments  look  in  print,  the  writings  of 
the  Rev.  Peter  Cartwright,  or  of  the  Rev.  Dr. 
R.  S.  Foster,  will  furnish  rich  and  striking 
specimens. 

A  few  evenings  ago  Mr.  Jones  and  I  met  at 
the  table  of  a  common  friend,  where  the  conver- 
sation turned  on  the  salvation  of  infants.  As 
Mr.  Hill,  our  host,  though  a  class-leader,  was 
not  aware  of  the  inconsistencies  of  the  Armin- 
ian  creed,  I  proposed  to  Mr.  Jones  that  he 
should  favor  us  with  his  views  on  the  point  in 
dispute.  To  this  he  readily  agreed,  and  began 
thus  :  "I  believe,  or  rather  I  know,  that  all  in- 
fants are  saved  through  the  atonement  of  Christ, 
because  it  would  be  clearly  unjust  that  they 
should  be  lost.  I  read  in  my  Bible,  '  Suffer 
little  children  to  come  unto  me,  and  forbid  them 
not,  for  of  such  is  the  kingdom  of  Heaven' — for 
of  such  is  the  kingdom  of  Heaven,"  he  repeat- 
ed, with  a  peculiar  twinkle  of  the  eye;  "that, 
brother  Smith,  does  not  sound  much  like  infants, 
not  a  span  long,  in  hell. "  To  Mr.  Hill,  who  had 
often  listened  to  such  arguments  without  per- 
ceiving their  fallacy,  this  mode  of  reasoning 
seemed  perfectly  conclusive^   In  order  to  expose 


INFANT    SALVATION.  81 

the  glaring  contradiction  involved  in  maintain- 
ing that  an  atonement  was  made  for  those  that 
were  not  lost,  I  inquired  if  infants  were  in  them- 
selves innocent  and  pure.  "By  no  means,"  re- 
plied Mr.  Jones  ;  "all  infants  fell  in  their  great 
forefather,  but  Christ  died  to  take  away  original 
sin,  and  it  would  be  shocking  injustice  to  hold 
them  answerable  for  the  sin  of  Adam."  How 
it  could  be  just  that  infants  should  fall  in  Adam, 
and  how  it  could  be  at  the  same  time  shockingly 
unjust  to  hold  them  answerable  for  the  sin  of 
Adam — sheer  contradiction  as  it  was — evidently 
appeared  to  be  no  contradiction  in  the  view  of 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Jones.  "  There  is  one  point,"  I 
continued,  "  on  which  I  should  like  to  have  your 
opinion.  Do  you  really  think  that  it  was  just 
that  infants  should  fall  in  Adam,  and  come  into 
the  world  with  natures  depraved  and  corrupt?" 
"Yes,"  was  the  reply  ;  "because  Christ  was  to 
make  an  atonement."  "But  suppose  no  atone- 
ment had  been  made — would  it  have  been  just 
in  that  case  ?"  Mr.  Jones  evidently  did  not 
like  to  a^iswer  my  question  in  this  naked  form ; 
but,  on  being  pressed,  at  length  said :  "  No,  it 
would  not  have  been  just."  "Do  you  believe, 
then,  Mr.  Jones,  that  infants  are  saved  by 
grace?"  "I  do,"  agid  he.  "You  affirm,"  I 
8* 


82  INFANT   SALVATION. 

continued,  "that  infants  are  saved  by  grace — 
and  you  also  affirm  that,  according  to  the  prin- 
ciples of  justice,  they  could  never  be  lost. 
Now  will  you  be  so  good  as  to  explain  what 
you  mean  by  infants  being  saved  by  grace  ? 
Would  it  not  be  as  well  to  strike  out  the  word 
grace  and  insert  the  word  justiceV^  My  cleri- 
cal neighbor  seemed  somewhat  nettled  by  these 
interrogatories,  and,  to  make  the  matter  worse, 
Mr.  Hill  interposed  with  another  question : 
"  Brother  Jones,  is  it  really  a  doctrine  held  by 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  that  infants 
are  born  with  natures  totally  depraved  ?"  The 
reply  was  in  the  affirmative,  accompanied  by  a 
significant  look  that  seemed  to  say :  "  Brother 
Hill,  I  wish  you  would  mind  your  own  busi- 
ness." Our  host  seemed  to  think  that  he  was 
minding  his  own  business,  and  proposed  a  second 
question,  "Why  should  infants  come  into  the 
world  with  natures  totally  depraved  ?"  A  feeling 
of  impatience  seemed  to  come  over  Mr.  Jones, 
who  answered,  in  a  very  curt  manner,  "Because 
they  fell  in  Adam."  "  But  why,  brother  Jones, 
should  they  fall  in  Adam  ?  Could  they  help 
this  ?  Has  not  Dr.  Foster,  in  his  unanswerable 
book,  forever  settled  this  question  ?  He  says 
that  Adam  may  have  been  to  blame  for  his  own 


INFANT    SALVATION.  83 

sin ;  but  how,  the  doctor  asks,  can  his  posterity  be 
to  blame  for  that  over  which  they  had  no  more 
control  than  the  Angel  Gabriel  ?  And  did  you 
not,  on  last  Sabbath,  in  refuting  Calvinism,  as- 
sert that  we  had  no  more  to  do  with  Adam's  sin 
than  the  man  in  the  moon  ?"  "  Have  I  not  told 
you,"  rejoined  Mr.  Jones,  ''that  Christ  died  for 
the  salvation  of  all  infants  ?"  "  I  know  you 
did ;  but  let  us  suppose  that  Christ  had  not 
died— what  then  ?"  "  But  Christ  did  die,"  was 
the  sharp  rejoinder.  This  reply,  or  perhaps  the 
tone  in  which  it  was  uttered,  seemed  to  satisfy 
Mr.  Hill,  but  it  did  not  satisfy  me.  "The  in- 
consistencies in  the  Arminian  creed,  gentle- 
men," said  I,  "never  appeared  so  striking  to  my 
mind  as  they  do  this  evening.  It  was  just,  ac- 
cording to  Arminianism,  that  infants  should  fall; 
and,  according  to  Arminianism,  it  was  not  just. 
According  to  Arminianism,  infants  are  saved  by 
grace ;  and,  according  to  Arminianism,  if  God 
did  not  save  infants  by  grace,  He  would  be,  to 
quote  the  dreadful  language  of  John  Wesley 
and  Mr.  ^Foster,  an  Almighty  Tyrant.  Be  con- 
sistent, Mr.  Jones  ;  drop  the  term  grace  alto- 
gether, and  say  at  once  that  justice — absolute 
justice — secures  the  salvation  of  infants,  and  that 
infants  would  have  been  just  as  certainly  saved, 


84  INVESTIGATION   NECESSARY. 

if  Christ  had  not  laid  down  his  life  for  them." 
Mr.  Jones,  instead  of  replying  to  these  objec- 
tions, suddenly  rose  from  the  table,  looked  at 
his  watch,  and  remarked  that  he  had  almost  for- 
gotten an  engagement  to  be  fulfilled  at  that 
very  moment. 

John  Smith. 


LETTER    XYI. 

Dear  Brother  : — 

The  ground  on  which  the  doctrine  of  infant 
salvation  rests  ought  to  be  thoroughly  explored. 
There  are  few  doctrines  so  imperfectly  under- 
stood. Church  members  could  be  counted  by. 
the  thousand,  who  have  never  given  themselves 
the  trouble  to  find  out  what  the  Scriptures  teach 
concerning  this  matter.  It  is  this  want  of  in- 
vestigation on  the  part  of  the  people  that  gives 
your  preachers,  in  some  respects,  the  advantage 
both  of  those  who,  like  the  Universalists  and 
Socinians,  reject  grace  altogether,  and  of  those 
whose  system  like  ours  is  founded  wholly  in 
grace.     Nor  are  some  of  your  brethren  slow  to 


A   COMPARISON.  85 

avail  themselves  of  this  advantage.  Justice, 
says  the  Universalist,  simple  justice  calls  for 
the  salvation  of  infants.  By  grace,  says  the 
Calviuist,  and  by  grace  alone,  are  infants  saved. 
The  Metliodist  Arminian  adopts  the  sentiments 
of  the  Universalist,  but  borrows  the  language 
of  the  Calviuist,  and  stoutly  maintains,  in  de- 
fiance of  all  consistency,  that  infants  are  saved 
both  by  justice  and  by  grace.  In  the  Univer- 
salist scheme,  grace  is  quietly  dropped,  and 
infants  are  saved  purely  by  justice.  On  the 
Arminian  plan,  infants  are  saved  either  justly 
by  grace,  or  graciously  by  justice.  These  two 
systems,  separated  by  a  very  wide  interval  in 
other  respects,  here  approach  each  other  and 
almost  touch.  To  invert  the  ordinary  rule  of 
comparison,  the  difference  between  Universalism 
and  Arminianism  on  this  subject  is  the  differ- 
ence between  the  Rev.  Dr.  E.  C.  Chapin  and 
the  Rev.  Dr.  R.  S.  Foster.  Dr.  Chapin,  Uni- 
versalist, would  boldly  inculcate  on  his  Maker 
the  duty  of  saving  infants  on  the  simple  ground 
of  justice.  Dr.  Foster,  Methodist,  not  a  whit 
less  bold,  would  inform  his  Maker  that  He  was 
bound  to  save  the  race  of  infants  by  grace; 
while  both  the  Universalist  doctor  and  tlic  Ar- 
minian doctor  would  claim  the  liberty  to  call 


86  DEBT   DISCHARGED    BY   GRACE. 

God  an  infinite  tyrant  to  His  face,  if  He  did 
not  save  infants  either  by  justice  or  by  grace. 

You  will  not  for  a  moment  suppose,  my 
brother,  that  I  put  you  and  your  brethren  on 
a  level  with  a  class  of  religionists  who  might 
as  well  take  refuge  in  Deism  at  once ;  for  Uni- 
versalism  is  little  better  than  Deism.  But  it 
cannot  be  denied  that  Universalists  have  here 
the  advantage  of  Arminians ;  for  if  God  could 
not  justly  leave  infants  to  the  consequences  of 
Adam's  transgression,  it  is  clear  as  day  that  the 
Universalist  and  not  the  Methodist  is  right.  To 
talk  about  infants  being  saved  by  grace,  if  jus- 
tice demands  their  salvation,  is  really  to  talk 
nonsense.  Who  ever  thinks  of  calling  the  pay- 
ment of  an  honest  debt  the  conferring  of  a 
special  favor?  Who  ever  dreams  of  designat- 
ing the  cancelling  of  an  obligation  the  bestowal 
of  a  free  gift  ?  And  yet  the  salvation  of  in- 
fants is  represented  by  Arminians  as  a  heavy 
debt  most  justly  due,  which  a  just  God  dis- 
charges by  grace  I 

John  Smith. 


ASSERTIONS   FOR   REASONS.  87 


LETTER    XYII. 

Dear  Brother  : — 

Since  I  wrote  my  last  letter,  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Jones  has  preached  another  sermon  on  the 
salvation  of  children  dying  in  infancy.  After 
the  congregation  was  dismissed,  the  following 
conversation  took  place  between  two  members 
of  the  Methodist  Church  :  "  Well,  doctor,  did 
not  the  Calvinists  receive  a  pretty  severe  hand- 
ling this  evening  ?"  "  So  they  did,  madam,  but 
it  strikes  me  that  brother  Jones  would  have 
done  as  well  had  he  given  us  reasons,  instead  of 
so  many  loose  assertions.  Suppose  that  Cal- 
vinists do,  as  he  says,  believe  in  the  damnation 
of  infants,  I  do  not  see  how  this  relieves  the 
difficulties  that  beset  our  own  system.  I  must 
own  that  I  am  disappointed,  for  I  expected  to 
hear  a  series  of  calm  and  dignified  arguments  to 
remove  the  objections  which  Mr.  Smith  urges 
against  tlje  Arminian  theory."  "Dr.  Black- 
stone,  don't  you  think  that  brother  Jones  can 
easily  answer  all  the  objections  which  Mr.  John 
Smith  can  bring  forward  against  our  doctrines  ?" 
"  That  may  be,  but  it  is  certain  that  he  did  not 


88  NEVER   SO   CLEAR   BEFORE. 

do  SO  this  evening.  I  am  not  a  theologian,  but 
Mr.  Jones  is  a  theologian,  and  as  he  gave  out 
word  that  he  would  answer  all  objections  brought 
against  our  views  of  grace,  I  supposed  -that  he' 
would  make  good  his  promise."  "What  are 
these  great  objections,  doctor  ?  Pray,  tell  me. 
Did  not  brother  Jones  make  it  perfectly  plain 
that  all  infants  are  saved  by  grace,  in  opposi- 
tion to  Pelagians  and  Socinians  ;  and  did  he 
not  make  it  just  as  plain,  in  opposition  to  the 
Calvinists,  that  God  would  be  an  Almighty 
Tyrant  if  He  did  not  save  infants  by  grace  ? 
Is  there  any  difficulty  in  all  this  ?  To  my  mind, 
this  subject  never  was  made  to  appear  in  so 
clear  a  light  before."  "  On  the  contrary,  to  my 
mind,  madam,  this  subject  never  appeared  so 
dark  before.  To  speak  the  truth,  the  theory  of 
our  church  looks  like  a  sheer  contradiction,  and 
the  longer  I  fix  my  attention  on  it,  the  more 
striking  the  contradiction  appears.  Brother 
Jones,  quoting  from  our  last  Christian  Ad- 
vocate, showed  the  absurdity  of  the  doctrine 
that  infants  were  really  involved  in  ruin  for 
Adam's  sin  ;  this  being  so,  with  what  pro- 
priety can  infants  be  said  to  be  saved  by 
grace  ?  How  is  it  possible  that  they  are  saved 
by  grace,  if  they  were  never  in  reality  lost  ? 


STERN    FACTS.  89 

What  has  grace  to  do  with  their  salvation  ? 
And  is  Mr.  Smith  far  out  of  the  way,  when  he 
tells  us  we  had  better  drop  the  term  grace 
altogether,  when  we  speak  about  the  salvation 
of  infants  ?"  Here  the  conversation  was  broken 
off.  The  next  day,  Dr.  Blackstone  politely  re- 
quested me  to  state  on  paper  our  views  of  in- 
fant salvation.  I  did  so,  and  I  inclose  a  copy 
of  the  letter  I  sent  him. 

John  Smith. 


LETTER   XYIII. 

Dr.  W.  C.  Blackstone. 

My  Dear  Sir  : — I  cheerfully  comply  with 
your  request,  and  will  come  at  once  to  the  sub- 
ject. Facts  and  sound  theology  are  never  dis- 
cordant. It  is  a  fact,  attested  by  the  constant 
experience  of  every  generation,  that  the  human 
soul  is  from  the  first  in  a  corrupt  and  depraved 
state.  Without  a  solitary  exception,  the  entire 
mass  of  humanity  has  been  penetrated  and  per- 
meated by  the  virus  of  sin.  No  point,  however 
far  back,  can  be  reached  in  the  personal  history 
9 


90  STERN   FACTS. 

of  any  individual,  where  the  evil  did  not  already 
exist.  When  moral  agency  begins,  moral  de- 
pravity has  already  begun,  and  it  is,  without 
figure,  in  all  that  concerns  human  responsibility 
ubiquitous.  It  is  present  with  our  first  words, 
it  accompanies  our  first  acts,  it  taints  our  first 
desires,  it  vitiates  our  first  motives.  Nor  can 
any  amount  of  favorable  circumstances,  any  kind 
or  degree  of  cultivation,  any  training  intellec- 
tual, physical,  or  religious,  avail  with  the  young 
immortal  to  shake  off  the  dreadful  incubus, 
which,  like  a  malignant  spirit,  fastens  its  hold  on 
him,  and  makes  a  part  of  himself  wherever  he 
goes.  These  are  stern  facts.  To  reject  them 
can  do  no  possible  good ;  and,  on  the  other  hand, 
wickedly  to  impugn  the  righteousness  of  God  is 
as  fruitless  as  the  impotent  rage  of  the  viper 
biting  against  a  file. 

The  Holy  Scriptures,  when  they  solemnly  de- 
clare that  we  are  by  nature  dead  in  trespasses 
and  sins,  and  by  nature  the  children  of  wrath, 
simply  confirm  what  universal  history — the  his- 
tory of  every  nation,  ancient  and  modern,  bar- 
barian and  civilized ;  the  history  of  every  family, 
great  and  small ;  the  history  of  every  individual, 
noble  and  common,  imperial  and  servile — teaches 
and  has  always  taught.     We  might,  indeed,  be 


MEN  NOT  CREATED  SINNERS.        91 

living  in  a  world  where  sin  and  misery  were  not 
even  known  by  name ;  where  generation  after  gen- 
eration of* beings  like  us  would  be  born  innocent, 
and  holy,  and  pure ;  where,  as  the  infantile  facul- 
ties were  unfolded,  each  dear  little  heart  would 
be  found  a  most  lovely  mirror,  reflecting  in  per- 
fection the  image  of  the  blessed  Creator,  and 
where,  in  the  constant  progress  of  development, 
the  affections  and  motives  would  be  expressed 
by  language  and  actions  void  of  the  faintest 
trace  of  selfishness  and  sin.  It  would  no  doubt 
be  very  pleasant  to  live  in  such  a  world  ;  but  it 
is  not  the  world  to  which  we  belong.  We  can, 
indeed,  by  a  stretch  of  the  imagination,  bring 
before  our  minds  the  picture  of  such  a  human 
race,  but  everybody  knows  that  it  is  not  the 
real  human  race,  the  race  that  is  actually  born, 
that  actually  lives,  moves,  and  dies  on  this 
planet. 

But  where  is  the  philosophy  that  is  to  solve 
the  awful  mysteries  of  this  theme  ?  It  is  all  in 
the  Bible.  Mere  human  wisdom  teaches  that 
God  created  men  just  as  they  now  are,  selfish 
and  depraved  A  theory,  which  so  palpably 
makes  God  the  author  of  sin,  we  indignantly 
reject.  It  is  not  possible  that  a  race  of  intelli- 
gent,   responsible    agents    should    be    created 


92  MEN    NOT    CREATED    SINNERS. 

morally  corrupt  and  unholy.  God  does  not  noio 
create.  Creation,  so  far  as  this  world  is  in  ques- 
tion, stopped  when  the  words  "  very  good  "  were 
pronounced  over  Adam,  the  father  of  the  human 
family.  In  those  words  we  had  a  share ;  for 
that  incomprehensible  Being,  to  whom  a  thou- 
sand years  are  as  one  day,  to  whom  the  future  is 
.as  the  preseat,  to  whom  things  that  are  not  are 
as  things  that  are,  had  before  Him  the  aggre- 
gated hosts  of  the  unborn  race,  with  the  same 
distinctness  as  if  each  and  every  individual  had 
already  appeared  on  the  stage  of  life.  We  were 
all  not  only  good,  but  very  good.  No,  my  dear 
sir,  men  were  never  created  sinners,  and  as  God 
did  not  create  them  sinners  at  first.  He  did  not 
make  them  sinners  afterward.  Yet  all,  without 
one  single  exception,  are  sinners  by  nature,  and 
by  nature  the  children  of  wrath.  Nothing  can 
be  gained  by  denying  the  fact.  There  it  stands 
out  in  bold  and  terrible  relief.  Let  us  go  to  the 
infallible  teachings  of  inspiration  for  an  expla- 
nation of  this  most  remarkable  phenomenon.  By 
one  man  sin  entered  into  the  world,  and  death 
by  sin,  and  so  death  passed  on  all  men,  on  in- 
fants as  well  as  adults,  for  that  all  have  sinned. 
That  is,  all  sinned  in  Adam ;  for  not  by  their 
personal  disobedience,  but  by  the  disobedience 


INFANTS    SAVED   BY   GRACE.  93 

of  one  man,  all  men,  infants  as  well  as  adults, 
were  made  sinners.  Not  by  their  personal  of- 
fenses, but  by  one  offense,  judgment  came  upon 
all  men,  infants  included,  to  condemnation  ;  and 
as  all  men  die  in  Adam,  infants,  as  truly  as 
others,  die  in  him.  Infants  were  really  lost, 
for  the  blessed  Saviour  says  of  little  ones,  that 
He  came  to  seek  and  save  them  as  lost.  If  they 
were  not  lost,  they  could  have  no  part  in  the 
Saviour's  work  of  redemption,  and  heaven 
would  furnish  the  anomalous  spectacle  of  one- 
half  of  the  church  saved  by  Christ,  and  the 
other  half  without  Christ.  But  if  infants  are 
saved  by  grace,  then  not  only  were  they  lost, 
they  were  justly  lost,  for  if  they  had  not  been 
justly  lost,  they  could  not  possibly  be  saved  by 
grace.  To  suppose  that  the  Son  of  God  should 
lay  down  His  life  for  innocent,  pure,  and  holy 
infants,  or  for  infants  not  morally  corrupt  and 
depraved  in  nature,  would  involve  the  wickedness 
of  charging  that  all-wise  Being  with  an  exhibi- 
tion of  folly  and  trifling  without  a  parallel  in 
the  annals  of  the  universe.  If  one  infant  only 
is  saved,  it  is  saved  by  grace.  If  ten  infants 
are  saved,  they  are  saved  by  grace.  If  a  thou- 
sand, if  a  million,  if  all  infants  are  saved — and 
we  have  no  reason  to  doubt  this — then  all  are 
9* 


94        INFANTS  SAVED  BY  GRACE. 

saved  by  grace.  Thus,  sir,  you .  will  see  that 
our  doctrine  of  infant  salvation  is  consistent 
with  itself,  is  consistent  with  sound  reason,  and 
is  consistent  with  the  teachings  of  the  Sacred 
Scriptures.  Contrast  with  this,  if  you  please, 
the  Arminian  view  of  this  subject.  According 
to  Arminianism,  infants  were  lost  and  they  were 
not  lost.  They  were  not  in  reality  lost — for 
justice  would  forbid  it — and  yet  they  are  saved  by 
grace.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  infants  were  also 
lost,  nominally  by  Adam's  transgression,  but 
really  by  the  atonement  of  Christ.  They  were 
lost  in  consequence  of  Christ's  atonement  for 
two  reasons:  first,  because  there  would  have 
been  no  infants;  and,  secondly,  even  if  there  had 
been  infants,  it  would  have  been  an  act  of  in- 
finite tyranny  to  expose  them  to  loss  on  Adam's 
account ;  for  how,  asks  the  Rev.  Dr.  Foster, 
could  they  be  to  blame  for  that  over  which  they 
had  no  more  control  than  the  Angel  Gabriel^ 
Infants  are  thus,  on  the  Arminian  plan,  saved  by 
grace  and  they  are  not  saved  by  grace.  They 
are  saved  by  grace  because  Christ  died  for  them, 
but  if  He  had  not  died,  they  would  have  been 
saved  at  any  rate.  Thus  you  see,  sir,  that  Ar- 
minianism is  inconsistent  with  itself,  is  inconsist- 
ent with  sound  reason,  and  Is  inconsistent  with 


EXTRACT   FROM   A    SERMON.  95 

the  teachings  of  the  word  of  God.  It  gives  me 
no  pleasure  to  say  so,  but  if  ever  there  was  a 
self-contradiction,  open,  barefaced,  and  absurd, 
the  Methodist  Arminian  doctrine  of  infant  sal- 
vation is  just  such  a  contradiction. 
Yours,  very  truly, 

John  Smith. 

P.  S. — I  take  the  liberty  to  furnish  an  extract 
from  a  sermon  which  I  delivered  some  time  ago. 
It  will  explain  itself. 

The  bodies  of  our  little  ones,  snatched  by  the 
rude  hand  of  the  destroyer  from  our  affection- 
ate embrace,  we  may  consign  to  their  mother 
earth,  in  full  assurance  of  faith  that  the  disen- 
thralled immortals,  regenerated  and  sanctified 
by  the  Holy  Ghost,  have  gone  to  seek  their 
kindred  in  the  skies.  Death  is  a  vanquished 
foe.  In  the  awful  struggle  with  the  Prince  of 
Life,  the  monster  lost  its  sting ;  and  it  is  written 
in  the  volume  of  the  deep  decrees  of  God,  that  the 
last  enemy  of  the  church  that  is  to  be  destroyed 
is  Death  itself.  We  ought  then  neither  to  mur- 
mur nor, repine.  We  ought  not  even  to  wish 
them  back.  They  are  transferred  to  the  Para- 
dise above,  and  it  would  be  cruel  to  have  them 
recross  the  deep  waters  of  Jordan  in  order  to 
share  our  toils,  to  be  exposed  to  our  dangers 


96  EXTRACT   FROM   A   SERMON. 

and  temptations,  and  to  be  made  partakers  of 
our  sufferings  and  trials.  The  dark  and  silent 
grave  yawning  to  receive  its  coveted  possession 
is  indeed  repulsive  to  nature,  but  the  infantile 
tomb  is  lit  up  with  the  hopes  which  the  Mighty 
Conqueror  Himself,  the  Resurrection  and  the 
Life,  has  inspired.  In  that  bright  world  to 
which  they  have  passed,  no  fears  shall  disturb 
their  calm  repose,  no  disappointments  cross  their 
path,  no  vexations  mar  their  peace.  The  only 
changes  which  they  will  undergo  will  be  to  pass 
from  glory  to  glory,  and  from  one  height  of  ex- 
cellence and  bliss  to  another  still  more  exalted. 
Were  such  little  ones  permitted  to  break  the 
mysterious  silence  of  eternity,  how  often  might 
they  not  be  heard  to  whisper  words  of  endear- 
ment and  encouragement  not  unlike  these: 
"  Father  !  Mother !  weep  not  for  us.  We  have 
been  called  from  your  family,  to  join  the  higher 
and  holier  famil}-  of  our  Father  in  heaven. 
We  would  not,  oh !  no,  we  would  not  if  we 
could,  forsake  these  celestial  abodes  to  return 
to  your  habitations  of  clay.  Weep  not  for  us, 
weep  for  yourselves  and  for  perishing  sinners 
around  you.  Oh  !  could  your  eyes  behold  what 
we  behold,  could  your  ears  hear  what  we  hear — 
such  countenances  radiant  with  love,  such  majes- 


THE   DOCTRINE   OF   ELECTION.  9*7 

tic  forms,  such  an  atmospliere,  such  sights,  such 
glory,  such  kiud  greetings,  such  hymns  of  praise, 
such  majesty  and  love  in  the  ever  adorable  Re- 
deemer, so  gracious  a  reception  by  the  eternal 
Father  !  But  it  is  not  for  you  to  know  these 
things  now.  Live  by  faith  on  the  Son  of  G-od, 
crucify  the  flesh,  overcome  the  world,  fight  the 
good  fight  of  faith,  fight  on,  and  when  the  vic- 
tory is  won,  we  will  be  the  first  to  welcome  you 
to  the  joys  of  our  Father's  house  above." 

J.  S. 


LETTER    XIX. 

Dear  Brother  : — 

I  NOW  come  to  a  subject  the  very  mention  of 
which,  most  unfortunately,  is  apt  to  stir  the 
prejudice,  and  sometimes  the  indignation,  of 
Arminians  —  the  doctrine  of  election.  There 
are,  it  is  to  be  feared,  large  classes  of  pro- 
fessed Cl\ristians  who,  if  they  could  have  their 
own  way,  would  quietly  drop  such  words  as 
elect,  election,  predestinate,  as  unbefitting  the 
religion  of  a  rational  and  enlightened  age.  In 
the   minds  of  not  a  few,  the  name  of  Calvin 


98  ONE    THING   CERTAIN. 

is  associated  with  these  doctrines,  just  as  if  John 
Calvin  had  been  the  originator  of  them  ;  while 
these  doctrines  themselves,  deep  and  glorious 
as  the  wisdom  and  love  of  God,  are  held  in 
ignorant  contempt.  John  Calvin  was  un- 
doubtedly a  great  man,  a  very  great  man ; 
but  we  believe  he  had  just  as  much  to  do  with 
putting  the  sun  and  moon  in  the  sky  as  with 
the  authorship  of  these  sublime  truths.  If  the 
Genevan  theologian  and  philosopher  had  never 
opened  his  eyes  on  this  planet,  it  is  altogether 
likely  that  the  sun  would  shine  by  day,  and  the 
moon  give  her  light  by  night ;  and  it  is  just  as 
likely  that  the  inspired  volume  would  declare 
that  God  has  mercy  on  whom  He  will  have 
mercy,  and  hardens  whom  He  will  harden.  One 
thing  at  least  is  certain.  These  obnoxious  ex- 
pressions would  not  be  found  in  the  'New  Testa- 
ment, if  the  sacred  writers  had  designed  to  in- 
culcate the  sentiments  of  modern  Arminianism. 
No  Arminian  ever  willingly  uses  these  expres- 
sions. No  Methodist  minister,  unless  it  is  to 
do  battle,  ever  preaches  from  texts  where  such 
terms  occur.  Where  would  the  eighth  and 
ninth  chapters  of  Romans  be,  if  the  sentiments 
of  John  Wesley  had  been  the  sentiments  of  the 
Apostle  Paul  ?     What  Arminian,  of  ancient  or 


IS   TxiUGHT   OR   IS   NOT   TAUGHT.  99 

modern  times,  could  possibly  have  written  the 
thirteenth  chapter  of  Revelation  ?  Imagine,  if 
you  can,  my  brother,  an  honest,  straightfor- 
ward discourse  by  Archbishop  Hughes,  from 
the  text,  "  In  vain  do  they  worship  me,  teaching 
for  doctrines  the  commandments  of  men;"  or 
one  by  the  Rev.  M.  D.  Conway,  from  the  text, 
"  For  the  time  will  come,  when  they  will  not 
endure  sound  doctrine,  but  after  their  own  lusts 
shall  they  heap  to  themselves  teachers  having 
itching  ears."  Now  just  so  impossible  it  is  to 
imagine  an  honest,  straightforward  discourse 
by  a  Methodist  Episcopal  preacher  from  the 
text,  "  Thou  hast  given  Him  power  over  all 
flesh,  that  He  should  give  eternal  life  to  as 
many  as  Thou  hast  given  Him  ;"  or  from  the 
text,  "All  that  the  Father  giveth  me  shall  come 
to  me." 

The  doctrine  of  personal  election  to  holiness 
and  eternal  life  is  taught  in  the  Scriptures,  or 
it  is  not  taught  there.  If  the  Bible  does  not 
teach  this  doctrine,  we  shall  find  nothing  said 
about  it,  ,or  we  shall  find  it  brought  forward 
only  to  be  condemned.  The  Romish  dogmas 
of  transubstantiation  and  purgatory  are  not 
anywhere  mentioned  in  the  New  Testament, 
therefore  we  conclude  that  there  is  no  such  a 


100  DR.  FOSTER   ON   ELECTION. 

place  as  purgatory,  and  no  such  a  thing  as 
transubstantiation.  In  like  manner,  if  the 
words  elect,  election,  elected,  chosen,  predesti- 
nated, are  not  found  applied  to  individuals  in 
the  Scriptures,  then  Arminians  are  right,  and 
the  doctrine  of  election  is  false.  Now  what  are 
the  facts  ?  Are  these  terms,  like  transubstantia- 
tion and  purgatory,  nowhere  mentioned  in  the 
Sacred  Oracles  ?  You  know  that  they  occur 
again  and  again. 

But  this  doctrine  might  be  brought  forward 
only  to  have  the  seal  of  condemnation  affixed 
to  it.  In  that  case,  these  expressions  would 
indeed  be  employed,  but  they  would  be  named 
only  with  abhorrence.  It  is  well  known  that 
there  is  a  long  list  of  writers.  Pelagian  and 
Arminian,  by  whom  the  doctrine  of  personal 
election  to  holiness  and  eternal  life  has  been 
assailed  in  language  the  most  indignant  and 
bitter.  In  that  Methodist  book,  "  Objections 
to  Calvinism,"  the  changes  are  rung  on  pre- 
ordain, predestinate,  elect,  election ;  but  all  the 
English,  good  and  bad,  at  the  author's  com- 
mand, seems  inadequate  to  convey  a  full  idea 
of  the  loathing  and  hatred  of  his  soul  for  these 
terms.     Let  me  give  you  a  few  specimens. 

*'It,"  the  doctrine  of  election,  "renders  the 


DR.  FOSTER   ON   ELECTION.  101 

conclusion  unavoidable  that  God  is  the  re- 
sponsible author  of  sin — author  in  the  sense  of 
orginator  and  cause."*  "All,  therefore,  who 
hold  to  the  unconditional  election  of  a  part  of 
mankind  to  eternal  life,  must,  to  be  consistent 
with  themselves,  take  into  their  creed  the  horri- 
ble doctrine  of  reprobation.  They  must  be- 
lieve that,  in  the  ages  of  eternity,  God  de- 
termined to  create  men  and  angels  for  the 
express  purpose  to  damn  them  eternally  !  that 
He  determined  to  introduce  sin,  and  harden 
them  in  it  that  they  might  be  fit  subjects  of 
His  wrath  !  that  for  doing  as  they  are  impelled 
to  do,  by  the  irresistible  decree "  of  Jehovah, 
they  must  lie  down  forever  under  the  scalding 
vials  of  His  vengeance  in  the  pit  of  hell  !  To 
state  this  doctrine  in  its  true  character,  is 
enough  to  chill  one's  blood,  and  we  are  drawn 
by  all  that  is  rational  in  us  to  turn  away  from 
such  a  God  with  horror,  as  from  the  presence  of 
an  Almighty  Tyrant. "f  Thus  speaks  the  Rev. 
Dr.  R.  S.  Foster,  one  of  the  living  oracles  of 
the  Metlu)dist  Episcopal  Church. 

Now,  I  would  ask,  does  the  Bible  ever  use 


*  Objections  to  Calvinism,  p.  103. 
t  Ibid.  p.  85. 

10 


102         DIFFERENT    STYLE    OF    THE    BIBLE. 

language  such  as  this  ?  Is  this  in  the  style  of 
Paul  or  Peter?  Does  the  Apostle  say,  "God 
did  not  predestinate  His  people  to  the  adoption 
of  children  ;  that  He  did  not  choose  His  people 
in  Christ,  before  the  foundation  of  the  world, 
that  they  should  be  holy ;  that  He  has  not 
mercy  on  whom  He  will  have  mercy,  but  is 
bound  to  show  mercy  to  all  alike ;  that  He 
hardeneth  not  whom  He  will  harden,  since  this 
*  would  make  Him  an  infinite  Tyrant?"  Does 
the  Saviour  say,  "  I  thank  Thee,  0  Father, 
Lord  of  heaven  and  earth,  that  Thou  hast  not 
hid  these  things  from  the  wise  and  prudent; 
this  could  never  seem  good  in  Thy  sight,  since 
it  would  be  the  height  of  injustice  to  hide  these 
things  from  any  human  being?"  This  would 
no  doubt  be  genuine  Arminianism;  but  does 
the  Bible  ever  employ  such  language  ?  I  ask 
again,  is  this  in  the  style  of  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures ?  These  questions  carry  with  them  their 
own  answer.  The  fact  is,  the  Bible  not  only 
nowhere  speaks  a  word  against  the  doctrine  of 
election,  but  its  whole  teaching  is  in  the  most 
decided  terms  in  its  favor. 

John  Smith. 


BELIEVERS   CHOSEN   IN   CHRIST.  103 


LETTER    XX. 

Dear  Brother  : — 

The  Apostle  Paul  opens  one  of  his  noble 
Epistles,  by  blessing  God,  the  Father,  for  choos- 
ing believers  in  Christ  before  the  foundation  of 
the  world,  and  for  predestinating  them  to  the 
adoption  of  children,  according  to  the  good 
pleasure  of  His  will.  The  text  stands  in  the 
first  chapter  of  Ephesians,  the  fourth  and  fifth 
verses  It  is  not  a  cold  logical  formula,  it  is 
the  language  of  rapturous  praise — the  lively  ex- 
pression of  a  soul  burdened  with  a  sense  of  the 
unspeakable  majesty  and  mercy  of  God.  What 
follows  is  reason  of  the  highest  order,  reason 
penetrated  and  glowing  with  the  fire  of  holy 
passion.  But  this  noble  text,  remarkable  for 
its  stirring  eloquence,  is  one  which  there  is 
ground'  to  believe  is  seldom  or  never  handled  in 
Arminian  pulpits  for  simple  edification.  Of  the 
thousanils  of  Methodist  churches  in  America, 
where  is  one  that  ever  joins  in  praising  God  be- 
cause He  chose  them  in  Christ  before  the  foun- 
dation of  the  world  ?  Where  is  one  that  is  ever 
taught  to  do  this  ?    Where  is  one  that  could  be 


104  A  PUZZLE. 

persuaded  to  do  this  ?  Do  not  rather  such  ex- 
pressions awaken  emotions  just  the  opposite 
of  those  that  were  kindled  in  the  breast  of  the 
inspired  Apostle  ?  To  a  candid  Arminian,  the 
words  predestinated,  chosen,  elect,  as  they  are 
met  with  in  the  Scriptures,  must,  it  seems  to 
me,  be  a  perfect  puzzle.  He  himself  never,  ex- 
cept in  a  diluted  sense,  employs  such  terms  in 
praise,  never  employs  them  in  prayer,  never 
employs  them  to  edify  his  own  soul,  or  the 
souls  of  his  brethren.  He  has  in  truth  no  use  for 
them,  and  there  is  consequently  no  proper  place 
for  them  in  his  system  of  theology.  He  sees 
and  feels  this.  These  terms  are  to  him  what 
the  words  hell,  hell-fire,  everlasting  punishment 
are  to  the  IJniversalist.  He  would  most  will- 
ingly dispense  with  them.  And  yet  there  they 
stand  in  the  Bible.  They  mean  something,  or 
they  would  not  be  found  there  ;  but  nothing 
that  wit  or  ingenuity  can  do,  is  omitted  to  ex- 
plain away  their  meaning,  which  is  in  itself  so 
very  plain  and  striking. 

In  the  political  world,  the  word  election  is  in 
common  use,  and  no  grown-up  person  ever  falls 
into  a  mistake  as  to  its  proper  signification. 
And  but  for  the  inveterate  force  of  prejudice, 
no  grown-up  person  would  ever  fall  into  a  mis- 


ELECTION.  105 

take  as  to  its  meaning  in  the  Bible.  Election 
among  men  implies : 

First.  That  there  are  certain  persons  chosen. 
If  nobody  is  chosen,  we  say  there  is  no  election. 

Secondly.  That  there  is  some  definite  end  or 
object  for  which  they  are  chosen  ;  thus  such 
and  such  men  are  elected  to  the  State  Legisla- 
ture, others  to  be  members  of  Congress,  and 
so  on. 

Thirdly.  That  there  are  qualified  electors  who 
make  the  choice,  who  choose,  who  elect. 

Fourthly.  That  there  are  certain  reasons 
which  influence  the  majority  of  the  electors  in 
choosing  the  persons  that  are  elected. 

Fifthly.  That  there  is  a  certain  time  when  the 
choice  is  made  ;  thus  on  such  a  day  of  such  a 
month  an  election  takes  place. 

Now  what  is  so  plain  and  easy  to  understand 
in  political  matters,  is  just  as  plain  and  simple 
in  matters  of  religion.  1st.  There  are  certain 
persons  chosen.  Paul,  speaking  of  himself  and 
the  Ephesian  Christians,  says  :  He  hath  chosen 
lis  in  Christ.  But  all  true  believers  were  chosen 
in  the  same  way,  and  are  in  the  Scriptures 
styled  the  elect,  the  election.  "If  it  were 
possible  they  would  deceive  the  very  elect." 
"  Shall  not  God  avenge  His  own  elect  ?" 
10* 


106  ELECTION. 

"  Who  shall  lay  anything  to  the  charge  of 
God's  elect  ?"  "  Put  on,  therefore,  as  the  elect 
of  God,  bowels  of  mercies."  "The  election 
hath  obtained  it,  the  rest  were  blinded."  At 
the  end  of  the  world  a  certain  number,  no  doubt 
a  very  large  number  of  the  human  race,  will  be 
received  into  heaven,  to  be  forever  glorified 
with  the  Saviour.  "  But  who  He  glorified  He 
also  justified,  and  whom  He  justified  them  He 
also  called,  and  whom  He  called  them  He  also 
predestinated  to  be  conformed  to  the  image 
of  His  Son." 

2d.  There  was  a  definite  end  to  which  they 
were  chosen  ;  namely,  to  be  holy  and  blameless 
in  love.  To  God  mankind  appeared  in  prospect, 
what  they  now  are  in  fact,  a  race  of  rebels,  all, 
to  an  individual,  disposed  to  despise  His  com- 
mands and  to  resist  His  authority,  and  all  most 
justly,  exposed  to  endless  wrath.  From  this 
mass  of  moral  corruption  and  guilt,  hosts,  in- 
numerable as  the  sands  on  the  shores  of  the  sea, 
were  predestinated  to  the  adoption  of  children, 
and  chosen  to  be  holy  and  without  blame  before 
Him  in  love. 

3d.  There  was  a  certain  period  when  the 
election  took  place.  It  was  not  in  time,  but 
before  time  began  ;    not  after,  but  before  the 


ELECTOR.  lot 

foundation  of  the  world.  It  was  in  that  awful 
period  of  the  past  to  w;hich  the  Saviour  refers 
in  that  remarkable  prayer,  "  Glorify  Thou  me, 
O  Father,  with  the  glory  which  I  had  with 
Thee  before  the  world  was;"  infinite  ages 
before  the  first  ray  of  created  light  had  pene- 
trated the  darkness  of  chaos,  or  the  first  anthem 
of  praise  had  broken  the  silence  of  eternity. 

4th.  There  was  one  Elector,  and  but  one, 
God  Himself  Not  a  single  passage  in  the 
Bible  teaches  that  Christians  elected  them- 
selves. How  could  they  choose  themselves 
before  the  foundation  of  the  world  ?  That  is 
not  all.  God  only  has  the  right  to  choose,  and 
He  claims  this  right.  "  I  will  have  mercy  on 
whom  I  will  have  mercy,  and  I  will  have  com- 
passion on  whom  I  will  have  compassion." 
God  only  has  the  power  to  choose.  "  Hath 
not  the  potter  power  over  the  clay,  of  the  same 
lump  to. make  one  vessel  unto  honor  and  an- 
other to  dishonor  ?"  To  choose  sinners  in 
Christ  implies  also  the  power  to  raise  them 
from  the  dead,  both  in  a  spiritual  and  natural 
sense,  and  this  power  resides  exclusively  in  the 
arm  of  Omnipotence.  Christians  are  styled 
God's  elect,  and  they  would  not  be  so  denom- 
inated if  any  but  God  had  elected  them. 


108  REASONS. 

5th.  There  were  certain  reasons  which  in- 
fluenced the  Divine  Mind  in  this  election. 
These  reasons  are  worthy  of  the  wisdom  and 
greatness  of  Jehovah,  but  to  us  it  is  not  given 
to  know  them.  It  does  not  comport  with  the 
majesty  of  the  Eternal  Father  to  descend  to  an 
explanationVf  His  conduct.  His  ways  are  not, 
and  cannot  be  our  ways,  and  His  thoughts  are 
not,  and  cannot  be  our  thoughts.  It  is  enough 
for  us  to  know  that  such  was  His  sovereign 
will  and  pleasure.  The  argument  of  all  others 
the  most  powerful  to  sway  the  judgment  and  to 
command  the  obedience  of  all  the  principalities 
and  powers  of  heaven  is  this — such  is  the  will 
of  God.  Here  all  argument  stops.  Beyond 
this  Gabriel  does  not  seek  to  go.  Now  what 
satisfies  the  capacious  mind  of  an  archangel, 
ought  surely  to  convince  the  narrow  under- 
standing of  a  creature  so  recent  and  so  feeble 
as  man.  We  can  ascend  even  beyond  this.  A 
greater  by  far  than  an  archangel,  Jesus  Christ 
Himself,  finds  rest  in  this  last  and  highest  of  all 
reasons:  "Even  so,  Father,  for  so  it  seemeth 
good  in  Thy  sight,"  so  is  Thy  righteous  will 
and  pleasure. 

Permit   me,    in   conclusion,    to   present   the 
Apostle's  argument  in  this  simple  form. 


A   SIMPLE   STATEMENT.  109 

There  are  persons  chosen.  Who  are  they  ? 
All  Christians,  the  elect. 

There  was  a  certain  definite  end  to  which 
they  were  chosen.  What  was  it  ?  To  become 
holy  and  blameless  in  love. 

There  was  a  certain  period  in  which  the 
election  took  place.  When  was  it  ?  Before 
the  foundation  of  the  world. 

There  was  one  qualified  Elector,  and  but  one. 
Who  was  it  ?     God  the  Father. 

There  were  certain  reasons,  wise  and  just, 
that  influenced  the  infinite  mind  of  the  Father, 
in  this  election.  What  were  they  ?  These  rea- 
sons He  does  not  see  fit  to  give,  nor  does  He 
condescend  to  explain  the  motives  from  which 
He  is  pleased  to  act.  He  predestinated  us  to 
the  adoption  of  children  by  Jesus  Christ  to 
Himself,  according  to  the  good  pleasure  of  His 
will.  Here  our  inquiries  and  our  investigations 
must  stop. 

John  S.mith. 


rjT-^ 


110       THE    SOVEREIGNTY   OP   GOD    HATED. 


LETTER   XXI. 

Dear  Brother  : — 

The  sovereignty  of  God  has,  in  all  ages, 
roused  the  opposition  of  the  human  heart.  Wit, 
argument,  eloquence,  bombast,  satire,  burlesque, 
have  all  been  employed  in  turn,  and  employed 
till  their  force  was  spent  against  this  clearly  re- 
vealed truth.  Nor  is  this  opposition  mere  show. 
It  springs  from  no  simulated  enmity ;  but  from 
enmity  that  comes  from  the  bottom  of  the  soul. 
Absolute  sovereignty  is,  with  these  men,  but 
another  name  for  absolute  tyranny;  and  that 
which  calls  forth  the  Alleluias  of  heaven,  only 
extorts  their  denunciations  and  curses.  They 
place  confidence  in  their  Maker,  only  so  far  as 
it  is  clear  to  their  understandings  that  He  is 
doing  right,  or,  at  least,  that  He  is  not  doing 
wTong.  They  cannot,  so  to  speak,  trust  Him 
out  of  sight.  They  must  see  to  it  that  He  does 
not  overstep  the  just  bounds  of  His  authority, 
and  trample  on  the  rights  of  sinners.  It  will 
not  do  to  tell  them  that  God,  in  bestowing  mercy 
on  whom  He  will  have  mercy,  and  in  hardening 
whom  He  will  harden,  is  actuated  by  reasons  in- 


ARMINIAN   CLAIMS.  Ill 

finitely  wise  and  infinitely  good.  They  must 
see  these  reasons  for  themselves.  It  is  not  suffi- 
cient for  Him  to  say,  "Be  still,  and  know  that  I 
am  God ;  know  that  though  I  give  no  reasons 
for  my  conduct,  what  I  do  is  always  done  in 
perfect  righteousness  and  perfect  justice,"  They 
will  not  be  still,  but  plainly  inform  Him  that 
they  do  not  concede  to  Him  the  prerogative  to 
show  mercy  to  one  rebel  and  not  to  another. 
Why  should  He  have  mercy  on  some  and  not  on 
others  ?  Why  should  He  withhold  mercy  from 
any  sinner?  Would  not  this  involve  Him  in 
criminal  partiality  and  gross  injustice  ?  Ar-e  not 
all  men  His  creatures  ?  Did  they  have  a  hand  in 
making  themselves  what  they  are,  depraved  and 
corrupt  ?  Have  not  all  sinners  a  claim,  a  just 
and  equal  claim,  to  the  Divine  favor  ?  Is  not 
God  bound  to  respect  this  claim  ?  Whence  then 
has  He  the  right  to  leave  a  sinner  to  himself  or 
to  suffer  him  to  follow  the  devices  of  his  de- 
praved ima^gination  ?  Might  not  such  a  sinner 
turn  on  his  Maker,  and,  clearing  himself  of  all 
blame,  lay  all  his  sins  and  crimes  to  his  Maker's 
charge  ?  Nay,  might  not  such  a  sinner,  deeply 
sensible  of  the  injury  inflicted  on  him,  his  rights 
disregarded,  his  just  claims  set  at  naught,  ascend 
the  throne  of  judgment  himself,   and  summon 


.-JC>=* 


112  ARMINIAN   CLAIMS. 

the  Almighty  to  the  tribunal  of  justice?  "Thou, 

0  Lord,  didst  have  mercy  on  other  sinners  but 
not  on  me.  To  others  Thou  gavest  grace  to  re- 
pent and  believe,  to  me  Thou  gavest  no  grace. 
Why  didst  Thou  thus  ?     True,  I  was  a  sinner ; 

1  did  trample  on  Thy  authority ;  I  did  hate  Thy 
holy  character ;  my  carnal  mind  was  at  enmity 
with  Thee  ;  I  did  reject  the  offers  of  salvation ; 
I  did  hold  the  Saviour  in  utter  contempt ;  but 
could  I  be  to  blame  for  this  ?  Was  not  my  nature 
depraved  ?  Was  it  in  my  power  to  love  Thee  ? 
Why  didst  Thou  not  bestow  on  me  a  sufficient 
meastire  of  grace?  Why  didst  Thou  not,  by 
Thy  almighty  power,  overcome  the  rebellion  and 
enmity  of  my  heart  ?  If  Thou  hast  mercy  on 
whom  Thou  wilt  have  mercy,  and  hardenest 
whom  Thou  wilt  harden,  why  then  dost  Thou 
find  fault,  for  who  hath  resisted  Thy  will  ?  I  do 
therefore,  Lord,  protest  against  such  criminal 
partiality,  audi  solemnly  appeal  from  Thee  to  the 
conscience  of  the  universe  !"  Do  you  say,  my 
brother,  that  I  have  been  drawing  a  mere  pic- 
ture of  the  fancy;  that  no  person  in  his  sober 
senses  would  venture  to  adopt  such  a  style  of 
reasoning,  or  to  address  the  Divine  Majesty  in 
terms  so  fraught  with  insolence  ?  I  reply,  this  is 
no  sketch  of  the  fancy.    Would  that  it  were  so. 


ARMINIAN   OBJECTIONS.  113 

It  is,  I  grieve  to  say  it,  but  too  faithful  a  de- 
scription of  fact.  Are  you  disposed  to  call  this 
in  question  ?  Is  proof  required  ?  Do  you  demand 
of  me  to  point  out  the  men  who  take  it  on  them- 
selves to  claim  for  rebels  a  share,  and  for  all 
rebels  an  equal  share  of  grace;  and  who  pub- 
licly threaten,  if  grace  were  denied  to  a  single 
sinner,  to  stigmatize  Jehovah  in  the  face  of  His 
creation,  as  an  Infinite  and  Almighty  Tyrant  ? 
Do  you  ask  why  I  bring  forward  objections 
urged  only  by  persons  who  know  neither  the 
meaning  of  sin  on  the  one  hand,  nor  of  grace  on 
the  other  hand ;  by  persons  who  make  light  of 
God's  immaculate  purity,  and  turn  the  dreadful 
sanctions  of  His  holy  law  into  jest;  objections 
urged  by  Socinians,  by  Universalists,  by  Ra- 
tionalists ?  I  answer  that  they  are  also  the  ob- 
jections, the  very  objections,  used  by  Methodist 
Arminians.  Do  you  deny  this  ?  Do  you  pro- 
nounce such  an  accusation  false  ?  Do  you  call 
on  me  to  name  any  Methodist  preachers  or 
writers,  who  have  the  assurance  to  bring  for- 
ward objections  so  supremely  wicked  and  absurd, 
or  who  employ  language  so  bold  and  irreverent, 
that  it  absolutely  borders  on  blasphemy  ?  Stand 
forth,  Doctor  Foster,  author  of  "  Objections  to 
11 


114       DR.  FOSTER  TAKES  THE   DEVIL 'S   PART. 

Calvinism,"  and  thou,  Bishop  Simpson,  his  in- 
dorser;  ye  are  the  men  ! 

Hear,  now,  what  the  Rev.  Dr.  Foster  has  to 
say  :  "  I  object  to  it  (the  doctrine  of  Election) 
as  involving  the  Divine  Being  in  the  grossest  in- 
justice, and  criminal  partiality.*  It  represents 
God  as  worse  than  the  Devil  can  be — as  more 
false,  more  cruel,  and  unjust.  More  false,  be- 
cause the  Devil,  liar  as  he  is,  hath  never  said, 
'He  willeth  all  men  to  be  saved  ;'  more  unjust, 
because  the  Devil  cannot,  if  he  would,  be  guilty 
of  such  injustice  as  you  ascribe  to  God,  when 
you  say  that  God  condemns  millions  of  souls  to 
everlasting  fire,  for  continuing  in  sin,  which,  for 
the  grace  that  He  will  not  give  them  they  cannot 
avoid.  Human  nature  is  depraved,  and  un- 
less changed  by  the  grace  of  God,  it  must  sin 
on,  must  sin  ever.  But  if  he  must  sin,  and  can- 
not avoid  it,  the  man  cannot  be  to  blame  for  it, 
can  he  ?  Let  it  not  be  said  he  brought  the  dis- 
ability on  himself.  If  this  were  so,  it  would 
relieve  the  case.  But  this  is  not  the  fact.  His 
disability  came  with  him  into  the  world  ;  it  was 
communicated  as  a  part  of  his  existence  ;  it  was 

■^  Dr.  Foster  quotes  and  indorses  these  sentiments  of 
Mr.  Wesley. 


THE   SINNER   WITHOUT   ANY   GUILT.        115 

his  very  essential  nature.  His  first  parent  may 
be  to  blame,  but  surely  he  cannot  be  responsible. 
Let  him  sin,  no  being  in  the  universe  can  cen- 
sure him,  he  is  not  to  blame.  Not  only  is  he 
not  to  blame  for  his  sins,  (if  God  withhold  grace,) 
but  he  cannot  be  required  to  do  right — he  is 
under  no  obligation  to  do  right.  Nay,  I  go 
a  step  further,  and  say  that  the  actual  sins  of 
reprobates  forms  no  juster  ground  of  their  dam- 
nation than  their  natural  corruption,  for  they 
were  brought  into  existence  with  a  corrupt  na- 
ture, for  which  it  was  never  possible  for  them 
to  free  themselves ;  which  they  had  no  consent 
in  bringing  on  themselves,  and  with  it  their  ac- 
tual sins  were  absolutely  unavoidable,  and  so 
could  no  more  constitute  a  just  ground  of  con- 
demnation, than  would  their  inherited  deprav- 
ity. It  renders  the  conclusion  unavoidable, 
that  the  sinner  is  absolutely  damned,  not  only 
without  the  possibility  of  salvation,  but  with- 
out any  fault  of  his  whatever.  They  are  called 
to  return  to  God,  to  repent,  to  believe  in  Christ, 
to  a  holy  life — no  one  of  which  calls  could  they 
possibly  obey ;  and  yet,  for  not  obeying,  every 
time  they  refuse,  their  damnation  is  increased. 
Is  not  this  awful,  frightful !  Dreadful  !  dread- 
ful !  dreadful !  Thou  Great  Spirit  of  the  heavens, 
art  thou  such  a  monster  as  this  ?" 

\ 


116  BISHOP   SIMPSON'S   INDORSEMENT. 

These  quotations,  my  brother,  will,  I  trust, 
satisfy,  perhaps  they  will  more  than  satisfy  your 
demands.  They  are  all  taken,  and  many  more, 
couched  in  similar  language,  breathing  a  similar 
spirit,  and  pervaded  by  a  logic  equally  conclu- 
sive, might  be  taken  out  of  Foster's  "  Objections 
to  Calvinism."  "This  work,"  says  Bishop 
Simpson,  of  your  church,  "has  been  well  exe- 
cuted. The  objections  are  distinctly  and  ex- 
plicitely  stated,  and  the  intelligent  reader  will, 
we  think,  be  fully  convinced  they  are  well  sus- 
tained. We  commend  the  volume  as  one  of 
great  merit."* 

In  my  last  letter,  I  summed  up  the  arguments 
of  the  Apostle  Paul  in  favor  of  the  doctrine  of 
Election  ;  I  will  now,  by  way  of  contrast,  sum 
up  the  Rev.  Dr.  Foster's  arguments  against  this 
doctrine,  and  Dr.  Foster's  arguments  are  also 
the  arguments  of  Bishop  Simpson  : — 

All  men  are  naturally  depraved.  No  man  is 
to  blame  for  natural  depravity.  No  man,  un- 
less a  measure  of  grace  is  bestowed,  is  respons- 
ible for  actual  sin,  any  more  than  for  hereditary 
depravity.  God  is  obligated  to  bestow  grace 
on  all  men.     He  is  not  at  liberty  to  have  mercy 


*  Bishop    Simpson's   Introduction    to    Objections  to 
Calvinism. 


CLAIM   OR   NO   CLAIM.  117 

on  one  sinner,  and  to  pass  by  another.  Justice 
requires  an  equal  distribution  of  grace.  If  in 
any  instance  God  should  refuse  to  bestow  grace, 
He  would  be  criminally  partial  and  grossly  un- 
just. If  God  should  undertake  to  call  such  a 
sinner  to  account,  the  sinner  might  lay  the  whole 
guilt  of  all  his  sins  and  crimes  to  the  charge  of 
his  Maker,  and  before  the  universe  proclaim  his 
Maker  a  monster  and  tyrant ! 

John  Smith. 


LETTER    XXII. 

Dear  Brother  : — 

The  whole  controversy  on  the  doctrine  of 
election  hinges  on  this — claim  or  no  claim.  If 
mankind,  as  sinners,  can  lay  claim  to  the  mercy 
of  God,  it  is  a  waste  of  time  to  argue  the  ques- 
tion ;  Arminians  in  that  case  are  right,  and  the 
doctrine  of  election  is  false.  If  such  a  title  is 
Inherent  in  sinners,  we  Calvinists  are  in  a  griev- 
ous error,  and  deserve  all  the  abuse  we  are 
accustomed  to  receive.  But  have  sinners  such 
a  claim  ?  Is  such  a  title  inherent  in  rebels  and 
traitors  ?  Must  God,  in  order  to  be  just,  show 
11* 


118  CLAIM   OR   NO   CLAIM. 

mercy  to  His  enemies  ?  Who  would  dare  to 
answer  these  questions  in  the  afiQrmative  ?  And 
yet  it  is  a  remarkable  fact  that  this  is  always 
taken  for  granted  by  Arminians,  whenever  they 
make  their  attacks  on  the  doctrine  of  election. 

Our  system  of  theology  knows  nothing  of 
claim  on  God — indeed  we  should  be  ashamed 
of  it  if  it  did.  An  error  so  serious  can  spring 
only  from  loose  yiews  of  the  nature  of  sin.  I 
do  not,  in  saying  so,  desire  to  intimate  that  we 
take  in  a  complete  and  perfect  view  of  this  most 
terrific  evil.  We  do  not.  The  human  faculties 
are  too  weak,  the  area  of  human  vision  is  too 
contracted,  the  theater  on  which  sin  displays  its 
tragic  career  is  too  small,  the  years  of  time  are 
too  few,  to  furnish  an  opportunity  to  master 
even  in  thought  this  frightful  theme.  It  would 
require  an  imagination  vigorous  enough  to  soar 
with  unfaltering  pinions  to  the  inaccessible 
heights  of  the  eternal  throne,  an  understand- 
ing powerful  enough  to  investigate  and  com- 
prehend the  full  sense  of  infinite  goodness,  in- 
finite holiness,  infinite  justice,  and  an  eye  keen 
enough  to  pierce  the  abysses  of  guilt  and  the 
abysses  of  woe,  into  which  a  rebel  creature 
plunges  in  its  audacious  attempts  to  set  at  de- 
fiance the  authority  the  blessed  Creator.     But 


THE   AWAKENED    SINNER'S   VIEW.  119 

where  is  a  created  being  possessed  of  powers 
so  capacious  to  be  found  ?  Not  on  earth.  Not 
in  heaven,  for  even  heaven  itself  could  not, 
from  the  most  gifted  of  her  gifted  sons,  furnish 
abilities  adequate  to  such  a  task. 

But  while,  in  the  absolute  sense,  the  dreadful 
import  of  sin  lies  not  within  the  reach  of  a 
creature's  mind,  through  the  operations  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  sinners  themselves  are  enabled  to 
understand  that  sin  is  the  direst  of  evils,  that 
^it  is  in  truth  the  only  real  evil.  The  conscience, 
enlightened  and  awakened,  threatens  in  a  voice 
of  thunder,  and  the  sinner  trembles  before  a 
holy  God.  Propose  to  such  a  man,  prostrate 
before  the  footstool  of  mercy,  to  address  his 
Maker  in  the  terms  which  Arminians  employ  in 
assailing  the  doctrine  of  the  Divine  sovereignty, 
and  his  whole  soul  would  revolt  at  such  daring 
impiety.  He  would  sooner  consent  to  have  a 
millstone  tied  to  his  neck  and  to  be  cast  into 
the  depths  of  the  sea.  Why,  then,  we  may  de- 
mand, do  your  writers  and  preachers  make  use 
of  language  in  argument  which  no  sane  man 
would  ever  venture  to  employ  in  prayer  ?  And 
what  must  be  the  worth  of  objections  which, 
though  they  may  impose  on  the  unthinking 
multitude,  the  instant  they  are  converted  into 
the  language  of  prayer  become  blasphemy  ? 


120  GRACE   AND   JOHN    WESLEY. 

I  have,  in  some  of  my  letters,  quoted  largely 
from  Foster's  "  Objections  to  Calvinism,"  to 
show  that  the  fundamental  idea  of  Arminianism, 
as  far  as  it  departs  from  the  teachings  of  the 
Bible,  is  that  sinners  as  sinners,  and  because 
they  are  sinners,  have  a  just  and  legal  claim  on 
the  mercy  and  grace  of  God.  I  will  now  quote 
from  a  greater  than  Mr.  Foster,  the  Rev.  John 
Wesley,  to  prove  the  same  thing.  This  is  Mr. 
Wesley's  language  ;  "Are  you  sure  that  God 
might  justly  pass  by  all  men  ?  I  deny  it.  That 
God  might  justly,  for  my  unfaithfulness  to  His 
grace,  have  given  me  up  long  ago,  I  grant ;  but 
this  concession  supposes  me  to  have  had  grace."* 
In  other  words,  God  had  not  the  right  to  cast 
off  John  Wesley,  simply  as  a  fallen  sinner. 
John  Wesley,  to  be  held  responsible  for  wrong- 
doing, must  have  grace.  John  Wesley,  without 
grace  conferred,  might  confidently  stand  forth 
and  challenge  the  right  of  the  Almighty  to 
bring  him  to  punishment.  John  Wesley,  with 
grace  conferred,  yields  the  point,  and  is  ready 
to  acknowledge  that  for  unfaithfulness  to  grace 
God  has  a  hold  on  him,  and  might  even  long 
ago  have  given  him  over.     This  he  is  willing 

*  Predestination  Calmly  Considered,  pp.  25,  26. 


PAUL   FOR   ONCE    AN   ARMINIAN.  121 

to  concede  ;  but  he  desires  it  to  be  expressly 
understood  that  this  concession  is  made  only 
on  condition  that  grace  be  previously  bestowed. 

It  may  not  be  unprofitable  to  ask,  how  would 
such  language  sound  in  the  mouth  of  the 
Apostle  Paul  ?  Imagine  such  an  anomaly,  if 
you  can,  and  for  once  let  Paul  be  an  Arminian, 
"By  grace  are  ye  saved,  through  faith  and  that 
not  of  yourselves  ;  it  is  the  gift  of  God.  God 
could  not,  however,  in  justice,  have  passed  by 
all  men.  Where  is  it  Avritten  that  He  might 
do  this  ?  I  cannot  find  it  in  the  word  of  God. 
Therefore  I  reject  it  as  a  bold,  precarious  as- 
sertion, utterly  unsupported  by  Holy  Scripture. 
Does  any  one  say  to  you,  my  brethren — (Paul 
still  speaking) — you  know  in  your  own  con- 
science that  God  might  justly  have  passed  you 
by  and  left  you  to  perish  in  your  guilt  ?  I 
deny  it.  That  God  might  justly,  for  your  un- 
faithfulness to  His  grace,  have  given  you  up 
long  ago,  I  grant ;  but  this  concession  sup- 
poses you  to  have  had  grace."* 

Now  of  all  difiicult  tasks,  you  would  find  none 
more  difficult  than  to  believe  that  the  great 


*  Read,  I  beg  you.  the  above  language  in  Wesley's 
Predestination  Calmly  Considered,  pp.  25,  26. 


122  ARMINIAN   GRACE. 

Apostle  of  the  G-entiles  could  have  given  utter- 
ance to  sentiments  like  these ;  the  very  senti- 
ments of  John  Wesley,  the  founder  of  Arminian 
Methodism . 

To  be  plain  with  you,  my  brother,  you  be- 
lieve in  grace  and  you  do  not  believe  in  grace. 
You  call  that  grace  in  one  breath,  what,  in  the 
next  breath,  you  claim  that  God  was  in  justice 
bound  to  do.  But  how  justice  was  bound  to  do 
the  work  of  grace,  we  Calvinists  cannot  under- 
stand. Our  belief,  so  often  and  so  freely  ex- 
pressed, is  that  a  race  of  rebels  deserve  no 
mercy.  Arminians  and  Pelagians  join  hand  in 
hand  to  oppose  this  doctrine.  All  the  hard 
names  in  the  dictionary,  and  some  words  not 
found  there,  are  most  liberally  applied  to  us,  be- 
cause we  confidently  assert  that  sinners  have  not 
a  claim  on  the  Divine  mercy.  We  contend  that 
grace  and  obligation  are  not  synonymous  terms. 
In  the  Scriptures  grace  is  pure,  and  like  virgin 
gold  without  alloy.  The  grace  of  Arminianism, 
on  the  other  hand,  is  a  sort  of  compound  of 
real  grace  and  real  debt ;  and  the  strange  med- 
ley is  set  forth  and  described  under  the  cap- 
tivating title  of  free  grace.  For  instance,  you 
all  hold  the  sentiment  that  God  of  His  mercy 
sent  His  Son  into  the  world  to  die  for  sinners — 


ARMINIAN   GRACE.  123 

this  is  grace.  But  you  do  not  stick  to  this. 
You  also  maintain  that  if  He  had  not  sent  His 
Son  into  the  world  to  save  sinners,  He  would 
have  been  unjust — this  is  debt.  That  is,  God 
is  infinitely  good  to  our  fallen  race  in  conferring 
grace,  but  He  would  be  infinitely  unjust  to  our 
fallen  race  did  He  not  confer  grace.  And  this 
is  what  you  call,  by  way  of  eminence,  free 
grace. 

The  substance  of  Armiuiau  theology,  con- 
centrated and  condensed,  may  be  comprehended 
in  this  brief  saying,  namely,  sinners,  one  and 
all,  have  a  just  claim  to  a  certain  measure  of 
grace.  Give  up  this  claim,  and  where  would 
your  brethren  commence  their  assaults  on  the 
doctrine  of  election  and  on  the  Sovereignty  of 
God  ?  Give  up  this  claim,  and  what  would  be- 
come of  Dr.  Foster's  "  Objections  to  Calvinism  ?" 
Give  up  this  claim,  and  what,  my  dear  brother 
Peter,  would  become  of  you  at  your  next  An- 
nual Conference  ?  Give  up  this  claim,  and 
Arminianism  gives  up  the  ghost. 

John  Smith. 


124  CONSUMMATE   HARMONY. 


LETTER   XXIII. 


Dear  Brother: — 

Never  was  the  doctrine  of  election,  coupled 
with  a  general  offer  of  salvation,  stated  more 
clearly  than  in  this  charming  sentence  :  "All 
that  the  Father  giveth  me  shall  come  unto  me, 
and  him  that  cometh  unto  me  I  will  in  nowise 
cast  out."  The  elegant  simplicity  of  this  pas- 
sage is  surpassed  only  by  the  depth  and  compre- 
hensiveness of  its  meaning.  The  Divine  elec- 
tion and  human  freedom  are  here  brought  out, 
not  in  opposition  to  each  other,  not  by  way  of 
contrast,  but  side  by  side,  in  consummate  har- 
mony. The  offer  of  salvation  takes  in  the  widest 
scope.  It  is  not  to  the  Jew  only,  nor  only  to 
the  Gentile;  it  is  not  merely  to  the  learned  and 
intelligent,  nor  merely  to  the  unlettered  and  the 
ignorant ;  it  is  not  simply  to  the  great  and  pow- 
erful, nor  simply  to  the  poor  and  lowly  ;  it  is  to 
the  Jew  and  the  Gentile,  to  the  learned  and  the 
unlearned,  to  the  rich  and  the  poor,  to  the  power- 
ful and  the  weak,  that  the  gracious  offer  is  made 
in  like  terms  of  condescension  and  encourage- 
ment.   Nor  was  the  promise  restricted  to  sinners 


WHO   RECEIVE   CHRIST.  125 

of  His  own  time ;  it  comes  down,  blessed  be  His 
name,  in  all  its  fullness  and  freshness  to  the  sin- 
ners of  this  generation.  He  turns  not  away 
from  any  broken-hearted  penitent.  He  never 
says,  "  You  are  too  insignificant,  you  are  too 
degraded,  your  sins  are  too  numerous,  your 
guilt  is  too  great."  Were  death  and  hell  to- 
day to  give  up  the  dead  that  are  in  them,  the 
annals  of  perdition  could  not  furnish  a  solitary 
instance  of  a  sinner  cast  out  who  had  sincerely 
applied  to  Him  for  salvation. 

But  while  this  is  a  glorious  truth,  it  is  equally 
true  that,  unless  accompanied  by  a  special  in- 
fluence from  above,  this  most  remarkable  offer  is 
never  accepted,  is  never  deemed  worth  accept- 
ing. The  preaching  of  the  cross  is,  to  them 
that  perish,  foolishness ;  it  is  only  to  those  who 
are  the  called,  according  to  the  Divine  purpose, 
that  it  becomes  the  power  of  God  unto  salva- 
tion. Only  those  receive  the  Saviour,  only 
those  really  believe  in  His  name,  who  are  born 
not  of  blood,  nor  of  the  will  of  the  flesh,  nor 
of  the  will  of  man,  but  of  God.  All  others 
invariably  reject  Him. 

What  proportion  of  the  human  race,  it  may 
be  asked,  will  eventually  be  saved  from  sin  and 
everlasting  death  ?  Those  who  come  to  the 
12 


126  HOW   MANY   ARE   SAVED? 

Lord  Jesus  Christ  for  pardon  and  life.     Who 
are  they  that  come  to  Him  for  pardon  and  life  ? 
Those  whom  the  Father  gave  to  the  Son.    Will 
any  of  these  fail  to  come  ?    Not  one.     "All  that 
the    Father  giveth  to  me,"  says  the   Saviour, 
"shall  come  to  me."     Will  any  others  come? 
None.     "No  man,"  says  the  same  Divine  Per- 
sonage, "can  come  unto  me  except  it  were  given 
to  him  of  my  Father."    Why  cannot  such  a  sin- 
ner come  ?    Does  God  hinder  him  from  coming  ? 
God  forbid.     Why  then  can  he  not  come  ?    Be- 
cause he  will  not.     Suppose  he  should  will  to 
come,  would  he  be  saved  ?     Certainly.     Would 
not  this  involve  a  contradiction  ?     Not  in  the 
least.      The   promise   runs   thus :    "  Him   that 
Cometh  to  me,  I  will  in  nowise  cast  out."    But 
can  the  sinner  come  to  Christ,  can  he  ever  be 
made  willing  to  come,  unless  the  Father  draw 
him?     No.     "No  man  can  come  unto  me  ex- 
cept my  Father  draw  him."     But  if  none  can 
come  to  the  Saviour  but  those  who  are  drawn 
by  the  Father,  is  any  sinner  to  blame  for  not 
coming?    Undoubtedly.    Why  should  he  not  be 
to  blame,  when  the  whole  difficulty  lies,  not  in 
God,  but  in  himself,  lies  in  the  fearful  wickedness 
of  his  rebellious  soul  ?     The  carnal  mind  is  en- 
mity against  God,  is  not  subject  to  the  law  of 


A   MISERABLE   EXCUSE.  127 

God,  neither  can  it  be.  You  might  as  well  ask, 
is  the  carnal  mind  to  blame  because  it  cannot 
be  subject  to  the  law  of  God  ?  They  that  are  in 
the  flesh,  that  is,  they  that  are  not  born  of  the 
Spirit,  cannot  please  God.  You  might  as  well 
ask,  are  they  to  blame  for  being  in  the  flesh  ? 
Are  they  to  blame  if  they  cannot  please  God  ? 
There  is  a  class  of  persons  described  as  having 
eyes  full  of  adultery,  and  that  cannot  cease  from 
sin.  You  might  as  well  ask  are  they  to  blame 
if  they  cannot  cease  from  sin  ?  The  Devil  hates 
his  Maker  with  a  perfect  hatred.  You  might 
as  well  ask  is  the  Devil  to  blame  for  not  loving 
God,  since  his  hatred  is  so  intense  that  he  can- 
not love  Him  ?  You  see  the  force  of  all  these 
objections.  If  sinners  were  anxious  to  make 
their  way  to  the  Saviour,  and  it  was  God  that 
kept  them  back,  and  hindered  them  from  coming 
to  Him,  it  would,  indeed,  be  a  very  different 
matter.  But  it  is  all  the  other  way.  They  icill 
not  be  saved.  Such  is  their  stubbornness,  such 
is  the  deep-seated  enmity  of  their  hearts  to  God, 
ttey  will  not  come  to  Christ  for  salvation.  Does 
justice  require  that  sinners  be  forced  to  fly  for 
refuge  to  the  Redeemer,  in  opposition  to  their 
own  deliberate  and  determined  choice  ? 

But,  you  may  ask,  is  it  not  the  tendency  of 


128  A    MAN   IN   REAL   EARNEST. 

such  a  doctrine  to  fill  the  soul  with  discourage- 
ment? Why  should  it  have  such  a  tendency? 
Does  not  the  Lord  Jesus  say  that  He  will  re- 
ceive all  that  come  to  Him  ?  Is  not  this  plain 
enough  ?  Is  there  anything  discouraging  in 
this  ?  Is  not  His  word  to  be  relied  on  as  the 
word  of  truth  ?  But  how  can  a  person  know 
that  he  is  one  of  the  elect?  Might  he  not, 
after  coming  to  the  Saviour,  find  that,  after  all, 
he  belonged  to  the  non-elect  ?  That  would  not 
be  possible.  Such  an  objection  refutes  itself. 
The  very  fact  that  he  comes  to  Christ,  is  itself 
a  proof  of  his  election  ;  for  none  but  those 
whom  the  Father  gave  to  the  Son  ever  take  such 
a  step. 

Let  us  suppose  a  certain  number  of  persons, 
say  a  thousand,  say  a  million.  To  each  of  these 
million  sinners  there  is  the  same  promise,  that  if 
he  will  come  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  he  shall 
be  saved.  Is  not  this  sufficient  ?  Can  a  reason- 
able creature  ask  for  more  ?  What  would  a 
man  really  in  earnest  do  ?  What  would  an 
honest  man  do  ?  An  honest  man,  a  man 
really  in  earnest  to  secure  his  eternal  well- 
being,  would  have  no  hesitation  to  act  on  such 
a  promise  at  once.  It  is  only  cavilers  that 
urge  such  objections,  and  if  any  one  chooses  to 


ARMINIAN   LOGIC.  129 

play  the  fool  by  refusing  to  apply  for  pardon 
before  he  has  ascertained  whether  he  is  one  of 
God's  elect,  let  him  do  so.  I  say  again,  an 
honest  man  finds  no  difficulty  here. 

If  a  thousand  estates,  each  worth  a  million  of 
dollars,  were  set  up  as  free  gifts  to  paupers,  on 
precisely  the  same  conditions  as  the  Saviour 
offers  eternal  life,  there  would  in  such  a  case  be 
no  caviling.  An  earnest,  sober-minded  man 
would  reason  thus  :  There  may  be,  perhaps,  a 
hundred  times  more  beggars  than  estates  ;  but 
no  matter,  I  will  do  my  best,  I  will  be  only  the 
more  in  earnest,  I  will  labor  only  the  harder  to 
secure  the  prize  to  myself.  A  fault-finder,  a  reg- 
ular Arminian,  on  the  other  hand,  might  say  :  It 
would  be  folly  in  me  to  apply  for  an  estate  be- 
fore I  have  found  out  to  a  certainty  that  I  am  to 
have  one.  If  I  am  to  have  one  of  these  estates, 
I  shall  have  one,  do  what  I  may  ;  if  I  am  not  to 
have  one,  I  shall  fail,  do  what  I  can ;  so  I  will 
give  myself  no  trouble  about  the  matter.  Sup- 
pose such  a  wiseacre  should  further  argue  :  It  is 
true,  this  splendid  prize  is  offered  to  any  pauper 
on  condition  that  he  will  go  and  apply  for  it, 
but  I  will  not  go  to  make  application  for  it,  be- 
cause I  do  not  want  it.  I  will  have  nothing  to 
do  with  it.  But  let  it  be  distinctly  understood, 
12* 


130  *  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

however,  that  if  the  donor  does  not  make  me 
willmg  to  go,  if  he  does  not  force  me  to  accept, 
the  whole  blame  of  my  poverty  and  wretched- 
ness must  rest  with  him,  not  with  me.  What  a 
beautiful  illustration  of  Arminian  reasoning ! 
But  seriously,  would  any  human  being,  unless 
devoid  of  common  sense,  ever  act  on  such  prin- 
ciples in  the  affairs  of  this  life  ? 

God  has  made  Abraham  Lincoln  President  of 
the  United  States.  This  event  was  just  as  cer- 
tain two  years  ago,  a  thousand  years  ago,  eter- 
nal ages  ago,  as  it  is  now.  Two  years  ago  there 
were  four  candidates  for  the  Presidency.  Did 
either  of  those  distinguished  men  refuse  to  run 
because,  forsooth,  he  could  not  certainly  know 
beforehand  that  he  would  be  elected  ?  Did  you 
at  that  time  hear  any  politician  apply  the  prin- 
ciples of  Arminianism  to  politics,  and  argue  in 
some  such  way  as  this :  "  Gentlemen,  if  God 
has  elected  Mr.  Lincoln,  he  will  be  our  next 
President ;  if  He  has  elected  Mr.  Douglas,  he 
will  be  President;  or  if  He  has  chosen  Mr. 
Breckenridge  or  Mr.  Bell,  why  then  one  of  these 
will  be  our  €hief  Magistrate.  So  you  see,  gen- 
tlemen, it  is  of  no  use  to  do  anything.  There 
is  no  need  of  any  effort.  You  trouble  your- 
selves for   nothing.     You   cannot   change   the 


A   TON    OF   GOLD.  131 

purpose  of  God.  You  ought  therefore  first  to 
find  out  which  of  these  candidates  God  has  or- 
dained to  fill  the  Presidential  chair." 

There  have  been  in  our  country,  no  doubt, 
some  very  wild,  and  a  few  very  foolish  politi- 
cians, but  I  am  bold  to  say  that  no  party  has 
had  advocates  wild  enough  or  foolish  enough  to 
employ  such  reasoning  on  any  subject  connected 
with  politics,  or  on  any  other  subject  that  in- 
volves the  plain  common  sense  of  mankind. 
Keligion  forms  an  exception  to  this  rule.  It  is 
only  in  religion  that  men  can  afford  to  be  incon- 
sistent enough  to  be  Arminians. 

John  Smith. 


LETTER    XXIY. 

Dear  Brother  : — 

If  William  B.  Astor  were  to  give  public 
notice  that,  on  such  a  day,  he  would  put  up 
in  the  City  of  New  York  a  ton  of  gold  as  a 
prize,  on  this  condition,  that  of  ten  thousand 
applicants,  he  should  become  the  fortunate  pos- 
sessor who  begged  the  longest  and  the  hardest, 
would  not  that  day  be  set  down  as  one  of  the 


132  A   TON   OF   GOLD. 

most  memorable  in  the  annals  of  tbat  great 
metropolis  ?  Neither  the  Japanese  Embassy, 
nor  the  Great  Eastern,  nor  the  Prince  of 
Wales,  no,  nor  even  Jefferson  Davis,  could 
draw  such  masses  of  people  together.  It 
would  no  doubt  be  a  scene  for  a  painter. 
Every  avenue  and  street,  every  lane  and 
alley,  every  nook  and  corner  alive  with  the 
worshipers  of  Mammon ;  all  pressing  with 
eager  steps  to  catch  a  glimpse  of  the  wished- 
for  treasure.  Men  and  women,  who  turn  up 
their  noses  at  the  wealth  and  honor  God  offers 
to  bestow,  and  who  would  not  give  a  straw  for 
all  the  possessions  heaven  itself  contains,  would 
now  be  found  wide  awake,  closely  calculating 
the  chances  of  success,  and  resolved  to  try  the 
utmost  strength  and  capabilities  of  their  lungs. 
But  who  could  describe  or  even  imagine  the 
effect  of  ten  thousand  voices  strained  to  accents 
long  and  loud,  deep  and  shrill,  begging,  whin- 
ing, screeching,  vociferating  for  gold  ?  A  tithe 
of  such  earnestness  and  such  effort  in  the  right 
direction,  would  insure  not  only  to  one,  but  to 
all  of  them,  a  title  to  an  inheritance  enduring 
as  the  days  of  heaven.  While  I  am  writing 
this,  the  fancy  by  a  natural  association  of  ideas 
brings  up  the  familiar  form  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  R. 


AN   ADDRESS   BY   DR.  FOSTER.  133 

S.  Foster,  laboring  with  most  praiseworthy 
energy  and  zeal  to  make  a  practical  applica- 
tion of  his  celebrated  Arminian  arguments  to 
the  case  now  before  him.  "  My  good  friends !" 
I  think  I  hear  the  worthy  doctor  cry,  "my 
good  friends !  only  one  of  you  can  get  the  prize. 
Nine  thousand  nine  hundred  and  ninety-nine 
are  making  yourselves  hoarse  to  no  purpose. 
Since  only  one  man  can  obtain  the  treasure, 
why  do  you  not  all  go  home  and  get  about 
your  business  ?  Whoever  is  to  have  this  mass 
of  gold  will  get  it  without  fail,  and  if  the  rest 
of  you  were  to  clamor  for  it  a  thousand  years  it 
would  do  no  good.  If  it  is  decreed  that  you 
are  to  be  the  favored  one,  it  is  all  one  whether 
you  exert  yourself  or  not.  You  are  safe  enough. 
You  cannot  possibly  be  set  aside.  The  gold  is 
yours  because  the  Divine  decree  secures  it  to 
you.  I  say  again,  if  it  is  so  that  God  has  de- 
creed that  you  shall  have  this  treasure,  it  will 
be  .yours,  whether  you  strive  to  obtain  it  or  not. 
If,  on  the  other  hand,  it  is  foreordained  that 
you  are  not  to  have  it,  you  may  bawl  away  till 
your  windpipe  bursts  and  you  will  have  your 
labor  for  your  pains.  What  folly,  then,  to  give 
yourselves  any  trouble  about  the  matter !  Can 
you  be  simple  enough  to  believe  that  you  can 


134  RESULTS. 

change  the  purpose  of  God  or  frustrate  His 
designs  ?"  "  Doctor  Foster,"  I  think  I  hear 
these  gentlemen  say  in  reply,  **  we  like  your 
arguments  extremely  well  when  religion  is  the 
topic ;  but  gold  not  religion  is  just  now  the  thing 
to  be  obtained,  and  we  might  be  regarded  as  not 
quite  in  our  right  minds  were  we  to  act  out  your 
theory  in  the  practical  matter  of  fact  before  us. 
In  the  pulpit,  this  method  of  reasoning,  we  are 
glad  to  say,  brother  Foster,  is  capital.  Em- 
ployed against  the  doctrine  of  election  it  is  per- 
fectly irresistible.  We  cannot  sufficiently  ad- 
mire the  wisdom  and  skill  with  which  you  have 
so  often  demonstrated  to  us,  that  if  a  man  is 
elected  to  eternal  life  he  need  not  repent,  he 
need  not  believe  in  Christ,  he  need  not  live  a 
holy  life ;  he  may  lie,  may  cheat  and  rob,  may 
commit  adultery,  may  commit  murder ;  his  salva- 
tion remains  perfectly  secure,  and  he  cannot 
possibly  be  lost.  We  have  also  been  delighted 
with  the  uncommon  clearness  and  force  of  your 
logic,  when  you  have  undertaken  to  prove  that 
if  a  person  has  not  been  elected  to  everlasting 
life,  he  may  repent,  he  may  trust  in  the  Saviour, 
he  may  pray  and  weep  and  beg  for  the  Divine 
favor ;  he  may  renounce  all  his  sins,  be  ever  so 
penitent,  have  ever  so  strong  a  faith,  and  live 


ARGUMENTS   GOOD   FOR   NOTUING.  135 

ever  so  holy  a  life,  it  is  all  in  vain.  There  is 
no  salvation  for  him,  and  do  what  he  will  he 
must  be  damned.  We  do  love  to  hear  you 
argue  in  this  way,  where  the  destiny  of  man 
and  the  interests  of  the  future  world  are  the 
subject  of  discourse. 

"  But  while  in  the  pulpit  this  style  of  reason- 
ing is  extremely  forcible  and  perfectly  convinc- 
ing, while  it  is  most  wonderfully  calculated  to 
overwhelm  Calvinism,  and  to  make  Calvinists 
shrink  away  abashed  and  confounded,  such 
arguments,  the  moment  they  are  brought  to 
bear  on  the  ordinary  business  affairs  of  life, 
we  must  honestly  tell  you  lose  all  their  weight 
and  point ;  and  to  be  plain,  doctor,  are  abso- 
lutely good  for  nothing.  So  please  excuse  us, 
Dr.  Foster,  if  we  say  again  that  we  should  be 
little  better  than  fools  were  we  in  this  matter  to 
carry  into  practice  your  otherwise  excellent 
theory." 

JouN  Smith. 


136  TWO   FACTS. 


LETTER   XXy. 

Dear  Brother  : — 

There  are  two  very  important  facts  to  which 
I  now  propose  to  call  attention ;  afterward  I 
will  inquire  into  the  reasons  of  the  facts.  The 
first  fact,  well  known  and  disputed  by  nobody,  is 
that  all  men  do  not  come  to  Christ  for  salvation. 
Atheists,  Deists,  and  Pantheists,  as  such,  do 
not  come.  Mormons,  Spiritualists,  Universalists, 
Socinians,  as  such,  do  not  come.  Murderers, 
adulterers,  thieves,  drunkards,  gamblers,  blas- 
phemers, the  covetous,  the  self-righteous,  as 
such,  in  one  word,  the  impenitent  of  every  class 
and  description,  as  such,  do  not  come.  To  the 
question,  "  Lord,  are  there  few  that  be  saved?" 
the  Lord  replied,  "  Strive  to  enter  in  at  the 
straight  gate,  for  many,  I  say  unto  you,  shall 
seek  to  enter  in  and  shall  not  be  able."  The 
road  to  everlasting  death  was  in  the  Saviour's 
time  very  wide,  and  the  travelers  on  it  exceed- 
ingly numerous.  That  fatal  highway  has  not 
become  less  wide,  while  the  gate  that  opens  to 
eternal  life  is  just  as  straight,  and  the  way  just 
as  narrow  as  ever.     So  much  for  the  first  fact. 


TWO   FACTS.  13Y 

The  second  fact,  acknowledged  alike  by  Ar- 
minians  and  Calvinists,  is  that  a  certain  por- 
tion of  mankind  do  come  to  the  Lord  Jesus  to 
be  saved.  Many  a  weary  sinner,  oppressed 
with  a  sense  of  guilt,  applied  to  Him  in  person 
during  His  sojourn  on  earth.  Nor  was  such  an 
application  ever  in  vain.  That  voice,  which  in 
tones  of  awful  rebuke,  sent  consternation  to  a 
generation  of  vipers  and  hypocrites,  fell  in  ac- 
cents of  heavenly  tenderness  on  the  ears  of  the 
broken  in  heart,  and  diffused  a  peace  through 
the  spirit  that  passed  all  understanding.  Since 
the  Redeemer's  exaltation  to  the  right  hand  of 
Power,  vast  multitudes  have  renounced  the  ser- 
vice of  sin,  have  labored  and  suffered  for  His 
name's  sake,  and  are  now  reigning  with  Him  in 
glory.  There  are  thousands  and  tens  of  thou- 
sands at  present  on  the  earth  who  have  fled 
from  the  approaching  storm  to  this  dear  Refuge, 
who  are  united  by  faith  to  the  Lord  Jesus,  in 
whom  Jesus  lives,  to  whom  Jesus  is  the  power  of 
God  and  the  wisdom  of  God,  and  for  whom  the 
very  name  of  Jesus  has  an  inexpressible  charm — a 

Dear  Name,  the  Rock  on  which  they  build, 
Their  Shield  and  Hiding-place ; 

Their  never-failing  Treasury,  filled 
With  boundless  stores  of  grace. 

So  much  for  the  second  fact. 
13 


138        ENMITY  OF  THE  HEART. 

Here,  then,  are  two  stupendous  facts  :  a  por- 
tion of  mankind  come  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
and  are  saved ;  all  the  rest  of  mankind  do  not 
come,  and  are  lost.  How  are  we  to  account  for 
these  facts  ? 

And,  first,  why  do  sinners  reject  the  proffered 
aid  of  the  only  Being  who  can  deliver  them 
from  everlasting  destruction  ?  Why  will  they 
not  come  to  the  great  Redeemer,  who  is  the 
brightness  of  the  Father's  glory,  and  the  ex- 
press image  of  the  Father's  Person,  for  pardon 
and  for  eternal  life  ?  The  Bible  discloses  the 
painful  cause.  A  fixed,  settled,  deadly  enmity  to 
God,  is  the  barrier  and  the  only  barrier  in  the 
way.  Let  this  be  removed,  and  the  attractions 
of  the  cross  would  become  absolutely  irresisti- 
ble. But  to  the  removal  of  this  fatal  barrier, 
the  impenitent  sinner,  in  whose  estimation  sin  is 
happiness  and  holiness  is  misery,  will  by  no 
means  consent.  Xot  heaven  with  its  infinite 
joys,  not  hell  with  its  infinite  woes,  can  furnish 
motives  strong  enough  to  induce  him  to  consent. 
Life  itself  is  less  dear  to  him  than  sin.  You 
and  we  agree  in  maintaining  that  sinners  refuse 
to  come  to  the  Saviour  because  they  will  not 
come,  and  that  the  reasons  of  their  rejection  of 
the  offers  of  mercy  all  have  their  origin  in  the 


FINAL   CAUSES.  139 

dreadful  wickedness  of  their  hearts.  They  love 
darkness  rather  than  light ;  that  is,  they  love  sin 
rather  than  holiness,  rebellion  rather  than  obedi- 
ence, Satan  rather  than  God.  The  whole  dif- 
ficulty begins  and  ends  with  themselves.  They 
will  not  come  that  they  may  have  life.  So  far 
there  is  no  difference  between  us. 

But  though  we  agree  on  this  point,  we  are, 
unfortunately,  not  agreed  on  this  other  ques- 
tion ;  while  sinners  in  crowds  reject  the  Saviour 
and  are  lost,  why  do  other  sinners  come  to  Him 
to  be  saved  ?  With  the  reasons  you  assign  we 
are  not  satisfied.  It  is  not  that  they  are  false 
reasons ;  as  far  as  they  go  they  are  sound  and 
good  enough,  but  we  charge  that  they  do  not 
go  far  enough.  Men  come  to  Christ,  you  say, 
because  they  experience  the  vanity  of  the  world, 
because  they  taste  the  bitterness  of  sin,  because 
they  are  attracted  by  the  charms  of  the  Saviour. 
All  this  is  true.  But  here  you  stop.  Yet  the 
great  Teacher  does  not  stop  here.  These  rea- 
sons He  does  indeed  accept,  but  blends  them 
harmoniously  in  this  one  grand  ultimate  reason, 
because  the  Father  gave  them  to  the  Son.  I  know 
that  you  insist  that  it  is  by  grace,  and  not  of 
ourselves  that  we  are  saved,  and  I  rejoice  that 
you  do  insist  on  this  j  but  still,  in  your  view  of 


140  FINAL   CAUSES. 

the  matter,  it  ultimately  depends  not  on  God, 
but  on  the  sinner,  whether  he  is  saved.  The 
ultimate  reasons  of  the  sinner's  coming  to  Christ 
you  fix  where  you  fix  the  ultimate  reasons  of 
the  sinner's  refusing  to  come  to  Christ,  in  the 
sinner  himself.  Now  it  is  remarkable  that  Ar- 
minians,  among  the  reasons  they  assign  on  this 
subject,  never  specify  the  grand  reason  given 
by  the  Saviour  himself.  In  no  Arminian  book 
can  it  be  found,  from  no  Arminian  pulpit  is  it 
proclaimed,  that  the  Father  gave  the  Son  power 
over  all  flesh,  that  he,  the  Son,  should  give  eter- 
nal life  to  as  many  as  the  Father  had  given 
Him,  and  that  all  that  the  Father  gave  to  the 
Son  shall  come  to  Him.  And  yet  the  salvation 
of  each  and  every  Christian  is  traced  to  this  as 
its  ultimate  source.  To  sum  up  the  matter,  the 
final  reason  of  a  sinner's  salvation  we  fix  in  God. 
The  final  reason  of  a  sinner's  salvation  you  fix 
in  the  sinner  himself.  And  this  is  a  standing 
subject  of  difference  between  you  and  us. 

John  Smith. 


THE   NAMES   IN   THE   CATALOGUE.  141 


LETTER    XXYI. 

Dear  Brother  : — 

You  Arminiaus  object  to  us  tliat  if  only 
those  are  saved  whom  the  Father  has  given  to 
the  Son,  it  is  folly  to  offer  salvation  to  sinners 
not  elected  to  eternal  life.  This  objection  has  its 
origin  in  the  singular  fallacy  that  the  future  con- 
dition of  every  person  is  always  to  be  known  by 
us.  A  Methodist  preacher  takes  it  for  granted, 
if  some  were  chosen  in  Christ  before  the  founda- 
tion of  the  world,  and  others  not  chosen,  that 
there  must  be  some  secret  marks  by  which  both 
parties  can  be  recognized,  and  because  nobody 
has  ever  discovered  such  secret  marks,  there- 
fore he  draws  the  conclusion  there  are  no  elect. 
In  both  the  Arminian  and  Calvinistic  schemes, 
the  same  persons  and  precisely  the  same  number 
of  persons  are  saved.  The  number  of  sinners 
regenerated,  sanctified,  and  glorified  is  just  as 
Targe  in  our  catalogue  as  in  yours  ;  there  is  not 
a  name  in  the  one  which  is  not  found  in  the 
other.  If,  then,  Calvinists  ought  to  offer  salva- 
tion only  to  those  that  shall  be  saved,  that  is  to 
the  elect,  why  ought  not  Arminiaus  to  do  so 
13* 


142  A   SUPPOSITION. 

too  ?  But  you  will  say  that  the  number  of  the 
elect  was  not  fixed  by  a  decree  from  eternity. 
Suppose  it  was  not ;  suppose  that  the  church 
was  not  elect  according  to  the  foreknowledge  of 
God  the  Father ;  suppose  that  believers  were 
not  chosen  in  Christ  before  the  foundation  of 
the  world  ;  suppose  that  those  whom  the  Father 
will  glorify  were  not  predestinated  to  be  con- 
formed to  the  image  of  his  Son ;  decree  or  no 
decree,  election  or  no  election,  there  is  not  a 
single  sinner  more  saved  according  to  your 
scheme  than  according  to  our  scheme,  nor  is 
there  a  single  sinner  more  lost  in  our  system 
than  in  yours.  You  know  and  believe  as  well 
as  we  that  a  definite  number  of  the  human  race 
will  be  saved,  and  that  in  the  end  of  the  world 
just  so  many  sinners,  neither  more  or  less,  will 
be  glorified  in  heaven ;  why  then  do  your 
preachers  offer  salvation  to  those  who  will 
never  be  saved  ?  Do  you  say,  that  had  they 
closed  in  with  the  offer  of  mercy  they  too  might 
have  been  saved  ?  So  say  we.  Do  you  con- 
tend that  it  was  their  wicked  unbelief  and  not 
a  Divine  decree  that  hindered  them  from  coming 
to  Christ  ?  That  is  also  our  doctrine.  The  Divine 
decree  has,  blessed  be  God,  drawn  many  a  poor 
forlorn  sinner  to  the  Saviour ;   but  it  has  never, 


ARMINIAN   PERVERSIONS.  143 

never  drawn  away  any  sinner  from  the  Saviour. 
The  Rev.  Dr.  Foster,  on  the  ninety-fifth  page  of 
his  book,  which  Bishop  Simpson  regards  as  a 
work  of  great  merit,  asks  these  questions  :  "  If 
Christ  only  died  for  a  part  of  mankind,  and  if 
only  a  definite  number  may  come  to  Him  and 
be  saved,  I  ask  Dr.  Rice,  in  the  name  of  all 
reason  and  consistency,  with  what  propriety  can 
he  invite  persons  not  of  the  elect  to  come  to 
Christ — to  turn  that  they  may  have  life,  and  to 
seek  the  favor  of  God  ?  Why  does  he  make 
such  invitations  ?  Is  it  not  mockery,  then,  to 
ask  them  ?  Are  not  all  such  invitations  sheer 
trifling  with  interests  the  most  awful  and  tre- 
mendous ?"  Dr.  Foster  is  evidently  an  earnest 
man,  and  for  aught  I  know  an  honest  man  ;  but 
it  is  difficult  to  comprehend  how  a  judgment, 
naturally  good,  can  be  swayed  by  such  reasons. 
His  intense  hatred  of  the  doctrine  of  election 
only  can  account  for  this ;  for  I  would  not 
insult  his  understanding  by  supposing  it  to  be 
possible  that  he  could  be  persuaded  to  argue 
seriously  in  this  way  on  any  topic  outside  of 
Arminian  theology. 

Of  the  four  hundred  souls  on  board  of  the 
Lady  Elgin,  now  at  the  bottom  of  Lake  Michi- 
gan, only  ninety-two  were  preserved  from  death. 


144  THE   REV.  DR.  FOSTER   AGAIN. 

Let  US  suppose  Dr.  Foster  to  have  been  a  pas- 
senger, and  that  an  angel  of  the  Lord  had,  on 
that  eventful  night,  revealed  to  him  that  a  defi- 
nite number,  exactly  ninety-two  persons,  would 
reach  the  shore  alive,  while  all  the  rest  would 
certainly  perish.  Soon  after  the  fatal  collision, 
the  captain  of  the  vessel  rushes  into  the  cabin, 
breaks  open  the  bolted  state-room  doors,  and  in 
a  voice  of  thunder  cries  out,  *'  Rise  !  men,  rise  ! 
the  steamer  is  a  wTcck  ;  here  are  life  preservers, 
take  them,  fasten  yourselves  to  them,  be  of  good 
courage,  exert  all  your  energies,  and  do  your 
best  to  reach  the  land."  ''Captain,"  replies 
Dr.  Foster,  if  we  might  imagine  it  within  the 
compass  of  possibility  that  Dr.  Foster  should 
utter  such  Arminian  absurdities  on  such  an  oc- 
casion, "  captain,  only  ninety-two  out  of  the 
four  hundred  passengers  will  be  saved.  Give 
your  life-preservers  only  to  those  ninety-two  ; 
tell  only  these  to  make  use  of  them,  encourage 
only  these  to  be  of  good  cheer,  exhort  only 
these  to  put  forth  all  their  efforts  to  escape  de- 
struction. Since  a  definite  number,  just  ninety- 
two,  are  to  be  preserved  from  a  watery  grave, 
I  ask,  captain,  in  the  name  of  all  reason  and 
consistency,  with  what  propriety  can  you  invite 
persons  not  of  the  elect  ninety-two  to  make  use 


AN   APPLICATION   OP    HIS   LOGIC.  145 

of  life-preservers,  and  exhort  them  to  be  of  good 
courage,  and  to  exert  themselves  to  the  utmost 
to  secure  their  deliverance  ?  Is  it  not  mockery 
to  ask  these  three  hundred  and  eight  to  do  this  ? 
Why  do  you  make  such  invitations  ?  Are  not 
all  such  invitations  sheer  trifling  with  interests 
the  most  awful  and  tremendous  ?" 

"Nay,  captain,"  continues  the  doctor,  "I  go 
further,  and  maintain  that  if  you  are  one  of  the 
ninety-two,  you  need  not  give  yourself  any 
trouble  about  your  situation,  as  there  is  no 
cause  of  alarm.  You  are  safe  enough ;  you 
could  not  be  drowned  even  if  you  were  to  sink 
to  the  bottom  of  the  lake.  If,  on  the  other 
hand,  you  are  not  of  this  chosen  number,  all 
your  efforts  will  be  fruitless,  and  escape  impos- 
sible. You  may,  therefore,  as  well  retire  to 
your  state-room,  fold  your  arms  and  quietly 
await  the  result.  For  my  part,  captain,  I  in- 
tend to  sit  still,  and  will  neither  lift  a  finger 
nor  move  a  foot.  I  am  an  Arminian,  and  my 
practice  shall  not  belie  ray  sentiments.  My 
d'octrine  is,  that  if  I  am  one  of  the  elect  ninety- 
two,  I  cannot  be  drowned  ;  if  I  am  not  one  of 
this  elect  number,  I  cannot  escape." 

John  Smith. 


146  REV.  JOHN   WESLEY. 


LETTER  XXYII. 

Dear  Brother  : — 

If  I  ask  a  Universalist  whether  he  believes 
that  the  wicked  will  be  punished  in  hell,  cer- 
tainly be  believes  in  hell  and  punishment,  but  it 
is  a  hell  without  fire,  and  punishment  without 
wrath.  If  I  ask  an  Arminian  whether  he  holds 
to  the  doctrine  of  election,  "Certainly,"  is  the 
reply ;  because  it  is  impossible  not  to  hold  to 
some  kind  of  election,  since  the  Sacred  Oracles 
are  so  explicit  on  this  subject.  The  ground  of 
election,  according  to  the  Scriptures,  is  to  be 
sought  in  the  sovereign  will  of  God,  who  has 
mercy  on  whom  He  will  have  mercy.  The 
ground  of  election,  according  to  Arminianism, 
is  to  be  sought  not  in  the  sovereign  will  of  God, 
but  in  the  self-determining  will  of  man.  It  is 
not  God  that  controls  the  choice  of  the  sinner, 
it  is  the  sinner  that  controls  the  choice  of  God. 
The  Rev.  John  Wesley  expresses  his  views  on 
this  subject  thus :  ''  God  foreappointed  obedient 
believers  to  salvation,  not  without,  but  accord- 
ing to  His  foreknowledge  of  all  their  works." 
That  is,  if  Mr.  Wesley  is  right,  men  were  chosen 


'rOREAPPOINTED   TO  .  SALVATION.  UT 

to  salvation  not  as  lost  sinners,  but  as  already 
obedient  believers.  They,  on  their  part,  first 
willed  to  believe  in  Christ  and  to  obey  Him ; 
He,  on  His  part,  in  consideration  of  such  faith 
and  obedience,  foreappointed  them  to  salvation. 
Mr.  Wesley  does  indeed  refer  the  salvation 
of  sinners  to  grace.  Far  be  it  from  me  to  say 
that  he  does  not ;  but  we  ought,  he  thinks,  to 
be  careful  not  to  ascribe  too  much  to  grace. 
He  is  very  severe  on  Calvinists  for  maintaining 
that  election  lies  at  the  root  of  all  genuine  faith 
and  obedience — the  starting-point  of  each  be- 
liever's salvation.  He  grants  that  Christians 
are  elect,  but  it  was  their  faith,  their  repentance, 
their  love,  their  good  works  foreseen  that  in- 
fluenced the  Divine  choice.  It  was  this  that 
secured  their  election.  God  foresaw  that  they 
would  exercise  a  sounder  judgment  than  others, 
and  that  they  would  be  disposed  to  do  what  was 
right  by  making  a  proper  improvement  of  His 
grace.  Since  impartial  justice  requires,  accord- 
ing to  your  scheme,  that  grace  should  be  be- 
stowed on  all  men  as  sinners,  and  that  all  sin- 
ners should  have  an  equal  share,  the  wicked 
who  perish  in  their  sins  are  in  possession  of 
grace  as  well  as  the  righteous,  and  their  stock  is 
just  as  large.     The  reason,  then,  that  obedient 


148  CARS   MOVE   THE   ENGINE. 

believers  were  foreappointed  to  salvation  was 
not  that  God  had  a  greater  love  for  them,  not 
that  they  received  a  larger  measure  of  grace,  not 
that  they  were  the  special  objects  of  His  favor. 
It  was  simply  this.  God  foresaw  that  they  would 
have  a  larger  share  of  good  sense,  and  would, 
in  the  exercise  of  their  sober  judgment,  be  in- 
clined to  avail  themselves  of  the  salvation  placed 
within  their  reach.  While,  therefore,  we  praise 
God  in  exalted  strains  for  His  goodness  and 
mercy,  Arminianism  reminds  us  that  we  ought 
not,  in  the  overflowing  of  our  gratitude,  to  lose 
sight  of  the  fact  that  at  least  a  respectable 
amount  of  credit  is  due  to  ourselves. 

To  draw  this  letter  to  a  conclusion.  In  hu- 
man redemption  the  Bible  represents  election 
as  the  antecedent,  or  that  which  takes  the  lead, 
and  holiness  as  the  consequence,  or  that  which 
follows.  Election  is  the  engine ;  repentance, 
faith,  love  and  obedience  are  the  train.  Ar- 
minianism reverses  this.  There  repentance,  faith, 
love,  and  obedience  are  the  motive  power,  and 
election  is  the  train.  Thus,  according  to  your 
way  of  thinking,  it  is  not  the  engine  that  draws 
the  cars,  it  is  the  cars  that  drive  the  engine. 

John  Smith. 


ARMINIAN   PREDESTINATION.  149 


LETTER    XXYIIL 

Dear  Brother: — 

I  PROPOSE  to-day  to  make  a  short  discourse 
on  a  very  fruitful  theme,  a  theme  which  it  is 
certainly  not  in  my  power  to  exhaust — the  in- 
consistencies of  the  Arminian  doctrine  of  elec- 
tion. The  text  is  on  the  fifty-sixth  page  of 
the  Doctrinal  Tracts,  the  writer  the  Rev.  John 
Wesley.  "  The  sovereignty  of  God  appears  in 
disposing  the  time,  place,  and  other  outward 
circumstances — as  parents,  relations — attending 
the  birth  of  every  one."  That  so  staunch  an  ad- 
vocate of  Arminianism  as  the  father  of  modern 
Methodism,  should  have  given  expression  to 
sentiments  so  completely  at  variance  with  the 
principles  of  his  own  creed,  is  surely  odd  enough. 
Why,  it  may  be  asked,  does  God  dispose  the 
time,  place,  and  other  outward  circumstances, 
such  as  parents  and  relations,  attending  the 
birth  of  those  whom  He  foreknew  would  never 
be  saved,  whom,  to  quote  Mr.  Wesley's  own 
language,  He  foreappointed  or  predestinated  as 
disobedient  unbelievers  to  damnation,  according 
U 


1^50  VOLTAIRE. 

to  a  foreknowledge  of  all  their  works  from  the 
foundation  of  the  world  ? 

Of  all  the  bad  men  who  lived  in  the  last 
century,  Yoltaire  was  without  doubt  one  of  the 
very  worst.  The  poison  of  his  malignant  satire, 
after  working  death  to  three  generations,  is 
unhappily  as  active  as  ever.  The  guilt  that 
burdened  the  soul  of  that  bitter  mocker  was, 
one  might  think,  almost  too  much  for  one  sin- 
ner to  bear.  And  yet  from  all  eternity  it  was 
clearly  foreseen  what  he  would  be,  and  what  he 
would  do.  According  to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Wesley, 
it  was  not  a  matter  of  chance  that  Yoltaire  was 
born.  The  period  in  which  he  was  born  was 
not  a  matter  of  chance.  The  country  in  which 
he  was  born  was  not  a  matter  of  chance.  The 
parents  of  whom  he  was  born  was  not  a  matter 
of  chance.  All  these  things  were  providentially 
ordered  and  disposed,  and  in  them  the  Divine 
sovereignty  appears.  Sentiments  so  just  and 
orthodox  we  should  hardly  expect  to  find  in  a 
class  of  writers  represented  by  Dr.  Foster;  but 
such  was  the  teaching  of  John  Wesley,  and 
such,  without  doubt,  is  also  the  teaching  of  the 
Holy  Scriptures. 

But  since  God  disposes  the  time  of  every 
one's  birth,  why,  it  might  be  asked,  was  not 


WESLEY'S   THEORY   APPLIED.  151 

Yoltaire  brought  into  the  workl  in  the  days  of 
Sodom  and  Gomorrah,  or  in  the  times  before 
the  flood,  when  human  wickedness  had  risen  to 
such  a  pitcli  that  he  could  have  done  no  harm  ? 
Or  why  was  not  this  disastrous  event  put  off 
until  the  millennial  reign  of  Christ,  when  a 
scoffing  infidel  will  be  only  an  object  of  pity  or 
abhorrence  ? 

Since  God  disposes  the  place  of  every  man's 
birth,  why  was  not  Yoltaire  born  among  the 
Esquimauxs  or  the  Hottentots,  in  Patagonia  or 
New  Zealand,  rather  than  in  the  heart  of  civil- 
ized and  Christian  Europe  ? 

Since  God  disposes  the  circumstances  of 
parentage,  why  were  the  parents  of  Yoltaire 
suffered  to  bring  into  the  world  the  author  of 
so  much  mischief  and  desolation  ?  Why  was 
not  the  mother  stricken  with  barrenness,  or  why 
did  not  a  fit  of  apoplexy  or  a  thunderbolt  stay 
the  birth  ?  Why  was  not  the  future  apostle  of 
skepticism  and  blasphemy  snatched  from  the 
breast  by  a  dysentery,  by  the  measles,  by  the 
scarlet  fever  ?  Would  it  not  have  been  a  thou- 
sand times  better  for  his  fellow-men  ?  Would  it 
not  have  been  a  thousand  times  better  for  the 
poor  man  himself?  Might  he  not  now  be  a 
smiling  cherub  before  the  throne  of  that  Sav- 


152  WESLEY'S   THEORY   APPLIED. 

iour  whose  name  he  execrated,  and  whose  re- 
ligion he  hated  and  opposed  through  a  long 
and  misspent  life  ? 

When  questions  like  these  are  put  to  us,  we 
have  a  ready  answer,  an  answer  prepared  for 
us  by  the  Lord  Jesus  himself:  ''Even  so,  fa- 
ther, for  so  it  seemed  good  in  Thy  sight." 
Such  a  reply,  however,  it  is  well  known,  never 
satisfies  Arminians.  With  them  such  a  reason 
has  so  little  force  that  it  fails  to  relieve  the  dif- 
ficulty in  their  minds.  They  would  rather  ask, 
"  Father,  we  desire  to  know  why  it  thus  seemed 
good  in  Thy  sight  ?"  And  yet  they  say  that 
the  sovereignty  of  God  appears  in  disposing  the 
time,  place,  and  other  outward  circumstances, 
such  as  parents,  relations,  attending  the  birth 
of  every  one.  And  they  further  say,  with  Mr. 
Wesley,  that  all  disobedient  unbelievers  were 
foreappointed  or  predestinated  to  damnation 
from  the  foundation  of  the  world.  Predesti- 
nated to  damnation  from  the  foundation  of  the 
world  !  But,  you  will  rejoin,  they  were  fore- 
appointed  to  damnation  because  it  was  foreseen 
that  they  would  refuse  to  believe  and  trust  in 
Christ.  The  former  you  state  as  the  fact,  the 
latter  as  the  reason  of  the  fact.  But  no  matter 
on  what  account,  no  matter  for  what  reason. 


A   RELIGION    OF    NOTHINGS.  153 

"disobedient  believers  were  foreappointed  or 
predestinated  to  damnation  from  the  foundation 
of  the  world,"  the  fact,  the  awful  fact  remains 
the  same.  Nor  is  this  all.  God,  with  a  full 
knowledge  of  all  their  future  ungodly  deeds,  and 
of  their  consequent  future  destiny,  foreknowing 
that  they  would  willfully  reject  the  salvation  of 
Christ,  and  would  never  be  saved,  disposed  the 
time  of  their  birth,  the  place  of  their  birth,  the 
outward  circumstances  of  their  birth.  Here  a 
very  simple  question  and  a  very  natural  one 
arises.  Why  did  God,  foreseeing  all  these 
things,  permit  such  persons  to  be  born  at  all  ? 
Do,  brother,  give  an  answer  to  this  question,  if 
you  can  ;   I  say,  if  you  can. 

John  Smith. 


LETTER    XXIX. 

Bear  Brother: — 

It  is  a  very  old  trick,  and  one  still  in  special 
favor  among  infidels,  to  raise  all  sorts  of  objec- 
tions against  the  Christian  religion,  while  not  a 
finger  is  moved  to  clear  away  the  insuperable 
14* 


154  A    RELIGION    OF    NOTHINGS. 

difficulties  that  beset  their  own  wretched  systems 
of  disbelief.  The  religion  of  an  infidel  is  in 
general  a  religion  of  nothings.  Sin  is  nothing. 
Holiness  is  nothing.  Heaven  is  nothing.  Hell 
is  nothing.  Eternity  is  nothing.  The  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  is  nothing.  The  Holy  Spirit  is 
nothing.  Even  God  the  Father  is  nothing. 
The  foundation,  if  it  may  be  so  called,  being 
laid  in  nothing,  what  can  a  man  be  expected  to 
build  on  such  a  foundation  ?  Hence,  to  tear 
down,  to  break  in  pieces,  to  destroy  the  dearest 
hopes  of  his  race,  is  the  chosen  and  appropriate 
work  of  a  skeptic.  To  lay  a  solid  foundation, 
and  to  rear  on  it  a  well-proportioned  and  dura- 
ble edifice,  is  no  part  of  such  a  man's  mission. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Foster  has,  it  is  to  be  regretted, 
pursued  a  plan  not  unlike  this  in  his  Objections 
to  Calvinism.  He  never  brings  forward  argu- 
ments in  proof  of  his  own  opinions.  He  seems 
to  think  that  this  is  altogether  unnecessary. 
He  does  not  even  condescend  to  tell  us  what  his 
own  opinions  are.  His  business,  one  would  sup- 
pose, is  simply  to  caricature,  to  vilify,  to  assail 
the  doctrines  of  the  Calvinists.  His  readers 
very  naturally  inquire,  what  does  Mr.  Foster 
himself  believe  ?  It  is  no  hard  task  to  under- 
stand what  he  does  not  believe.     It  is  easy  to 


NO   GRACE   NO   RESPONSIBILITY.  155 

see  that  he  does  not  believe  that  it  was  right  to 
constitute  Adam  the  federal  head  and  repre- 
sentative of  his  posterity  ;  that  he  does  not  be- 
lieve that  mankind  might  justly  have  been  left 
to  perish  in  their  sins  ;  that  he  does  not  believe 
that  sinners  are  answerable  for  their  sins  unless 
they  first  receive  a  measure  of  grace  ;  that  he 
does  not  believe  that  God  has  a  right  to  show 
mercy  on  whom  He  will  show  mercy,  and  to 
harden  whom  He  will  harden.  It  is  easy  enough 
to  see  what  he  does  not  believe,  but  it  is  by  no 
means  so  easy  to  comprehend  what  he  does 
believe. 

But,  after  all,  Dr.  Foster  is  not  so  much  to 
blame.  I  mean  no  reproach,  I  am  rather  com- 
plimenting his  shrewdness,  when  I  say  that  he 
has  very  good  reasons  for  not  bringing  out  his 
own  sentiments.  Were  I  an  Arminian,  I  might, 
perhaps,  find  it  convenient  to  adopt  a  similar 
policy.  I  have  sometimes  for  amusement,  some- 
times for  argument's  sake,  imagined  myself  a 
Methodist,  and  have  wondered  how  I  could,  on 
Arminian  principles,  answer  questions  such  as 
these  :  Why  were  those  human  beiugs  permitted 
to  come  into  the  world,  whom  God  foreknew 
from  all  eternity  would  never  be  saved,  whom, 
as  Mr.  Wesley  says,  God  foreappointed  or  pre- 


156  GRACE   AN   UNFORTUNATE   GIFT. 

destiiiated  to  damnation  in  view  of  their  wicked 
works  ?  Or  why  were  they  not  cut  off  in  tender 
infancy,  and  at  once  removed  to  heaven  ?  Since 
Arminianism  teaches  that  there  can  be  no  re- 
sponsibility where  there  is  no  grace,  why  does 
God  bestow  grace  on  such  as  He  knew  would 
never  improve  this  gift,  on  such  as  He  knew 
would  finally  perish,  on  such  as  He  knew  could 
not,  in  fact,  perish  at  all  were  it  not  for  this 
most  unfortunate  blessing  ?  Of  the  impenitept 
sinner.  Dr.  Foster  says  :  "  He  was  born  cor- 
rupt, and  so  could  not  be  guilty  for  this;  he 
could  not — without  grace — escape  from  corrup- 
tion, and  so  was  not  guilty  for  remaining  in  it." 
Why,  then,  is  not  every  sinner,  that  God  fore- 
knows will  not  become  a  Christian,  left  in  this 
enviable  state  of  innocent  depravity  ?  Why  are 
not  all  such  sinners  permitted  to  go  on  in  such  a 
blessed  career  of  irresponsibility  and  corruption 
undisturbed  and  unmolested  by  grace  ?  Vol- 
taire, for  example,  was  born  corrupt,  and  so 
could  not  be  guilty  for  this;  he  could  not  of 
himself  escape  from  corruption,  and  so  was  not 
guilty  for  remaining  in  it ;  and,  according  to 
the  authority  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Foster,  had  it  not 
been  for  grace,  the  great  French  blasphemer 
would  have  had  no  guilt  whatsoever  because  of 


ARMINIAN   DIFFICULTIES.  157 

his  corruption.  Why,  then,  was  this  gift,  this 
most  unhappy  gift  conferred  on  the  poor  man, 
since  it  was  certain  that  grace  would  ruin  him 
forever  ? 

Or  if  this  unfortunate  blessing  had  to  be  be- 
stowed, if  Yoltaire  could  not  be  permitted  to 
pass  through  life  in  irresponsible  depravity,  did 
he  receive  as  large  a  share  of  grace  as  he  might 
have  received  ?  Did  God  do  all  He  could  for 
him  ?  Could  He  do  no  more  ?  Was  it  out  of 
the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost  to  convert  him  ? 
Could  not  that  vain,  self-sufficient,  boasting, 
shallow  free-thinker  be  brought  to  lick  the  dust, 
and  in  an  agony  of  remorse  to  rend  the  very 
heavens  with  cries  for  mercy  ?  Have  there  not 
been  other  sinners  as  insolent  and  daring  as  he, 
as  devoid  of  good  principles,  as  black  of  heart, 
as  ignorant  of  God,  as  fully  bent  on  waging 
sacrilegious  war  against  the  dearest  and  holiest 
interests  of  the  human  family  ?  Was  this  mod- 
ern infidel  a  greater  hater  and  a  fiercer  persecu- 
tor of  the  Lord  Jesus  than  Saul  of  Tarsus  ? 
Why  did  it  not  also  please  God  to  separate 
Yoltaire  from  his  mother's  womb,  to  call  him 
by  His  grace,  and  to  reveal  His  Son  in  him  ?  I 
say  again,  I  have  often  wondered  how,  if  I  were 
an  Armiuian,  I  could,  on  Arminiau  principles. 


158  AN   OLD   TRICK. 

meet  such  questions  as  these.  Were  I  actually 
a  Methodist,  I  could  not  of  course,  any  more 
than  Dr.  Foster,  or  any  other  Methodist,  look 
such  difficulties  full  in  the  face.  I  should  most 
likely  do  as  Dr.  Foster  does,  not  look  at  them 
at  all.  To  meet  such  questions  on  scriptural 
ground,  and  without  quibbling  or  shuffling  to 
attempt  a  scriptural  solution  of  them,  is  virtu- 
ally to  give  up  all  the  peculiar  characteristics 
of  the  Arminian  system  of  theology. 

John  Smith. 


LETTEK    XXX. 

Dear  Brother: — 

It  is  an  old  trick  with  not  a  few  of  your 
brethren,  to  charge  Calvinists  with  believing 
that  men  are  not  free  agents  because  they  be- 
lieve in  the  doctrine  of  election.  There  are 
thousands  of  simple-minded  people  who  honestly 
think  that  we  consider  men  as  mere  machines, 
and  they  think  so  because  Arminian  preachers 
and  writers  tell  them  so.  I  know,  indeed,  that 
you  would  not  stoop  to  such  misrepresentations, 


AN   INCIDENT.  159 

but  your  course  is  rather  the  exception  than 
the  rule.  I  shall  never  forget  an  incident  that 
occurred  in  my  travels  through  northern  Penn- 
sylvania, in  the  summer  of  1850.  Late  on  a 
Saturday  night,  I  put  up  at  a  public  house,  in  a 
small  village,  to  stay  over  the  Lord's  day.  On 
inquiry,  I  found  that  there  was  but  one  church 
in  the  place,  the  Methodist  Episcopal.  At  the 
hour  appointed  the  next  day  for  worship,  I  took 
my  place  among  the  congregation,  a  stranger  to 
them  all.  As  I  am  seldom  taken  for  a  minister 
vrhere  I  am  not  known,  I  was  pretty  certain 
of  remaining  incognito  on  this  occasion.  My 
physiognomy,  which  you  know  is  not  the  most 
prepossessing,  drew  on  me  the  eyes  of  a  number 
of  persons  in  all  parts  of  the  house.  They  did 
not  seem  to  know  what  to  make  of  me.  Some, 
as  I  afterward  learned,  suspected  that  I  was  a 
Jew,  others  set  me  down  for  a  Frenchman  or  a 
German ;  not  one  took  me  to  be  a  minister  of 
the  Gospel.  Nor  would  they  ever  have  found 
out  that  people  write  Rev.  before  my  name, 
had  I  not  felt  constrained  afterward  to  make 
myself  known.  In  a  short  time  the  preacher 
entered  the  pulpit,  and  after  the  usual  genuflex- 
ion, commenced  the  services.  I  knelt  with  the 
congregation,  and  could  inwardly  say  Amen  to 


160  CALVINISM   DEFUNCT. 

his  genuine  Calvinistic  prayer.  The  text  was 
taken  from  the  last  chapter  in  Revelation :  "And 
the  Spirit  and  the  Bride  say,  Come."  As  I  went 
to  church  for  edification,  and  not  to  criticise,  I 
listened  with  pleasure  to  some  excellent  remarks 
on  the  greatness  of  the  Redeemer's  salvation, 
and  the  freeness  with  which  it  is  offered  to  sin- 
ners of  every  description.  The  uncouth  gesticu- 
lation, the  blundering  style,  the  superfluous  in- 
terjections were  passed  over  in  the  contemplation 
of  the  surpassing  richness  of  God's  goodness  in 
the  gift  of  His  dear  Son.  No  man  could  deliver 
sounder  doctrine,  and  but  for  the  peroration  I 
should  have  gone  away  from  a  scene  of  pleasure 
and  profit.  Unfortunately,  the  sermon  was  not 
complete  in  the  estimation  of  the  preacher  with- 
out a  running  fight  with  Calvinism.  "  Calvin- 
ism," cried  the  speaker,  looking  me  full  in  the 
face,  and  possibly  associating  my  features  with 
the  features  of  the  system  he  was  about  to  an- 
nihilate, "  Calvinism,  my  brethren,  is  dead  and 
buried  long  ago.  That  horrible  doctrine  be- 
longed to  the  dark  ages.  It  could  not  stand 
before  the  light  of  the  nineteenth  century.  Yes, 
my  brethren," — and  here  again,  whether  by  ac- 
cident or  to  see  what  effect  his  oratory  was 
producing  on  his  new  auditor,  his  eye  fell  full 


THE   ROPE.  161 

upon  me — "  Calvinists  are  ashamed  of  their  real 
sentiments.  They  believe  that  men  are  mere 
machines,  not  free  agents."  The  orator  then 
proceeded  to  give  us  an  illustration  of  the  de- 
funct Calvinistic  belief.  "  Suppose  there  were 
a  thousand  poor  wretches" — I  give  you  nearly 
his  own  language — "in  a  deep  pit  full  of  water 
and  mire,  and  that  God,  for  no  fault  of  theirs, 
had  thrown  them  into  this  dreadful  pit.  Now, 
suppose  further,  that  God  had  decreed  to  save  a 
small  number  of  those  who  are  the  elect,  but  to 
pass  by  the  great  majority,  who  are  the  non- 
elect.  Well,  He  lets  down  a  rope  from  heaven. 
That  rope  is  to  draw  up  only  the  elect.  But 
some  of  the  non-elect,  nevertheless,  manage  to 
get  hold,  and  begin  to  cry  aloud  for  mercy. 
But,  no,  they  are  told  you  are  not  elected ;  you 
must  stay  and  perish  where  you  are.  Nine 
hundred  non-elect  are  rejected,  notwithstand- 
ing the  heart-rending  cries  of  some  of  them  for 
mercy.  Presently  the  rope  comes  within  reach 
of  one  of  the  elect.  But  the  elect  one  has  no 
desire  to  be  taken  up,  and  when  urged  to  take 
hold,  positively  refuses.  But  he  is  one  of  the 
elect,  and  willing  or  not  he  must  be  saved,  and 
so  God  throws  the  rope  around  him,  tightens 
the  coil,  and  pulls  him  up  to  heaven,  the  elect 
15 


162  PLEASANT    SEQUEL. 

one  resisting,  kicking,  and  fighting  most  lustily 
all  the  while.  This,  brethren,  illustrates  the 
doctrines  of  the  Calvinists.  The  elect  are 
saved,  do  what  they  will ;  the  non-elect  are 
damned,  do  what  they  can.  Thank  God,  we 
do  not  believe  that  men  are  mere  machines. 
We  believe  in  free  agency.  We  believe  in  free 
grace.  Bless  the  Lord,  brethren," — and  here 
I  was  favored  with  another  searching  gaze, — 
"  Calvinism  is  dead  and  buried."  I  might  stop 
here,  as  this  is  no  unfair  specimen  of  the  out- 
rageous misrepresentations  so  often  heard  from 
Armiuian  pulpits,  but  as  the  sequel  turned  out 
pleasant  enough,  I  may  as  well  finish  the  story. 
When  the  discourse  was  ended,  I  arose  slowly 
to  my  feet,  and  begged  permission  to  make  a 
few  remarks.  It  was  granted.  "  Your  preach- 
er," I  remarked,  in  a  calm  and  pleasant  tone  of 
voice,  which,  in  the  breathless  silence,  was  easily 
heard  over  the  house,  "  your  preacher  is  a  self- 
convicted  resurrectionist.  Calvinism  is  dead 
and  buried  long  ago.  Why  could  he  not  leave 
it  decently  buried  ?  Why  must  he  disturb  its 
last  repose  ?"  Afterward,  in  a  very  serious,  but 
conciliatory  style,  I  took  occasion  to  disabuse 
the  minds  of  my  fellow-hearers.  I  told  them  the 
plain  truth  about  the  matter,  and  they  could  not 


PLEASANT    SEQUEL.  163 

but  see,  althougli  I  did  not  say  so,  that  the  illus- 
tration of  the  men  in  the  pit  was  a  most  shameful, 
a  most  hideous  caricature  of  the  doctrine  of  the 
Calvinists.  After  I  had  concluded,  the  minister 
arose  and  made  some  remarks  to  the  effect  that  it 
was  to  be  regretted  that  Christians  of  different  de- 
nominations should  so  often  misunderstand  each 
others'  sentiments.  "Brother,"  said  he,  direct- 
ing his  address  to  me,  "  will  you  walk  into  the 
pulpit  and  pray  for  us  ?"  With  pleasure  the 
invitation  was  accepted.  All  that  day  and 
night,  I  was  impressed  with  the  singular  scene 
through  which  I  had  passed.  Early  the  next 
morning,  my  friend,  the  resurrectionist,  made  me 
a  pleasant  call  at  my  lodgings,  and,  on  taking 
ieave,  said,  with  an  affectionate  squeeze  of  the 
hand,  "  Brother  Smith,  the  next  time  you  pass 
through  our  village,  do  me  the  favor  to  make 
my  house  your  home." 

John  Smith. 


164       CAN  GOD  OR  CAN  HE  NOT 


LETTER    XXX L 

Dear  Brother  : — 

There  has  been  for  ages  a  dispute  about  the 
power  of  God  on  one  point.  Can  Jehovah  or 
can  He  not  so  decree  the  acts  of  intelligent 
agents  as  to  leave  the  agents  perfectly  free  ? 
Does  His  omnipotence  reach  as  far  as  this,  or 
must  it  here  succumb  to  an  impossibility  ?  That 
is  the  question,  and  it  is  merely  a  question  of 
power.  We  hesitate  not  a  moment  to  take  the 
affirmative,  and  boldly  maintain  that  such  a  high 
and  mysterious  prerogative  does  of  right  belong 
to  the  Almighty  ;  while  you  hesitate  not  a  mo- 
ment to  take  the  negative,  and  just  as  boldly 
insist  that  such  a  high  and  mysterious  preroga- 
tive does  not  of  right  belong  to  the  Almighty. 
Here  again  we  are  at  variance.  Which  of  the 
two  renders  to  God  the  highest  meed  of  honor, 
Arminianism,  which,  with  extreme  jealousy, 
would  circumscribe  and  limit  the  Divine  power, 
or  Calvinism,  which  rejoices  to  leave  that  power 
untrammeled  and  unlimited  ? 

The  Arminian  theory  assumes  that  if  an  act  is 


ARMINIAN   FIGURES.  165 

free,  it  could  not  be  foreordained  ;  if  an  act  was 
foreordained,  it  cannot  be  free.  Omnipotence 
itself,  you  say,  cannot  reconcile  foreordination 
with  free  agency.  This  is  saying  too  much. 
On  what  do  you  found  an  assertion  so  bold, 
and,  I  must  add,  so  irreverent  ?  Is  it  on  the 
Scriptures  ?  But  nowhere  is  the  absolute  power 
of  God  over  the  whole  domain  of  mind  set  forth 
in  terms  so  remarkable  for  energy  and  force,  as 
we  find  it  in  the  teachings  of  the  Bible.  Is  it 
on  reason  ?  To  us,  indeed,  the  decrees  of  God 
may  appear  incompatible  with  human  freedom, 
but  it  is  only  because  the  link  which  connects 
the  two  lies  buried  in  depths  which  it  is  not 
given  to  men  to  fathom.  Surely,  brother,  you 
will  not  pretend  to  have  sounded  the  unknown 
depths  of  pure  reason. 

I  have  often  observed  with  pain  that  the  mo- 
ment predestination  or  the  Divine  decrees  are 
so  much  as  named,  the  Arminian  imagination 
seems  to  become  alive  with  all  sorts  of  fantastic 
images;  men  turned  into  senseless  blocks,  men 
turned  into  machines,  men  pinioned  and  fettered 
and  manacled,  men  forced  against  their  will  to 
commit  sin,  and  then,  poor  creatures,  cast  into 
hell,  to  be  punished  for  crimes  which  they  were 
by  an  irresistible  decree  absolutely  compelled  to 
15* 


166  WHAT   IS   PREDESTINATION? 

commit ;  and  under  the  influence  of  imagery  so 
whimsical  and  capricious,  the  Arminian  bile  is 
stirred  to  its  utmost  depths. 

What  is  predestination  ?  You  define  it  in 
one  way,  we  define  it  in  another  way.  You  say 
that  it  is  a  decree  which  robs  a  person  of  his 
freedom,  and  converts  him  into  an  irresponsible 
machine.  Predestination  in  this  sense  of  the 
term  you  reject  with  abhorrence.  I  am  happy 
to  inform  you  that  predestination,  with  such  a 
meaning  attached  to  it,  we  reject  with  an  abhor- 
rence just  as  great.  We  hold  that  human  beings 
are  free  moral  agents,  not  necessitated  moral 
machines.  What  then  is  predestination  ?  We 
affirm  that  it  is  a  decree  of  God  which  will  cer- 
tainly be  fulfilled,  but  which  at  the  same  time 
leaves  the  agent  perfectly  free,  that  is,  just  as 
free  as  if  there  were  no  Divine  decree.  This, 
you  say,  you  cannot  understand.  You  are 
right;  you  cannot.  Xor  can  we.  This  is  not 
the  only  subject  you  cannot  comprehend.  God 
had  no  beginning.  Can  you  grasp  the  stupen- 
dous thought  ?  You  cannot.  Do  you  on  that 
account  reject  the  eternity  of  God  ?  But  you 
insist  that  predestination  involves  a  contradic- 
tion. You  might  with  the  same  show  of  reason 
affirm  that  the  eternity  of  God  involves  a  con- 


COMPARISON.  16 1 

tradiction.  Both  these  subjects  are  incompre- 
hensible mysteries,  but  an  incomprehensible 
mystery  does  by  no.  means  necessarily  imply  in- 
consistency with  itself.  The  Apostle  Paul  de- 
clares that  we  are  predestinated  according  to 
the  purpose  of  Him  who  worketh  all  things 
after  the  counsel  of  His  own  will.  No^v  if  pre- 
destination involved  a  real  contradiction,  such 
language  an  inspired  writer  would  not  have  em- 
ployed. We  may  lay  it  down  as  an  incontro- 
vertible proposition  that  it  is  absolutely  impos- 
sible that  such  a  Being  as  God  should  exercise 
a  prerogative  which  contradicts  and  stultifies 
itself. 

An  error  into  which  it  is  very  easy  and  very 
natural  to  fall,  lies  at  the  bottom  of  all  our  dif- 
ficulties in  this  matter.  It  is  an  altogether 
mistaken  conception  of  God's  nature.  The 
operations  of  the  Divine  mind  we  are.  prone  to 
regard  as  quite  similar  to  what  we  experience 
in  ourselves,  and  the  Divine  mind  we  seem  to 
take  for  granted  is  only,  so  to  speak,  a  human 
mind  invigorated  and  magnified  into  colossal 
greatness.  We  seem  to  take  it  for  granted  that 
Jehovah  must  think  and  act  as  we  do  ;  whereas 
He  can  no  more  think  and  act  as  we  do,  than 
we  can  think  and  act  as  He  does.     It  is  well  to 


168  CONTRAST. 

take  heed  to  what  He  himself  teaches  us  on  this 
subject.  "  My  thoughts  are  not  your  thoughts, 
and  my  ways  are  not  your  ways."  The  plans 
and  purposes  of  mortals,  while  they  cannot  run 
into  the  past,  penetrate  but  a  little  way  into  the 
future.  The  horizon  which  bounds  the  area  of 
human  effort  is  rarely  out  of  sight,  and  beyond 
that  horizon  are  no  illimitable  oceans,  no  bound- 
less expanse,  no  immeasurable  heights,  no  un- 
fathomable depths.  The  plans  and  purposes  of 
Jehovah,  on  the  other  hand,  are  the  product  of 
a  mind  with  which  all  the  past  and  all  the  future, 
the  eternity  which  has  swept  over  the  universe, 
and  the  awful  eternity  which  is  yet  to  come,  is 
as  distinctly,  as  vividly  present  as  this  passing 
moment.  There  are  points  of  resemblance  in 
the  modes  of  thinking  between  the  lowest  in  the 
human  scale  and  the  highest  in  that  scale,  be- 
tween an*Australian  savage  and  a.  Newton  or  a 
Webster.  There  are  points  of  resemblance,  we 
may  safely  assume,  between  the  race  of  man  and 
the  race  next  above  man,  and  the  race  above 
that  race,  and  so  on,  up  through  all  the  grada- 
tions of  the  mighty  scale,  till  we  reach  the- 
highest  development  of  created  intellect.  But 
vast  as  is  the  distance  between  the  mental  endow- 
ments of  the  lowest  savage,  and  the  mental  en- 


GOD   INCOMPREHENSIBLE.  169 

dowments  of  one  of  lieaven's  most  exalted  sons, 
it  is  not  immeasurable.  A  molehill,  which  you 
can  cover  with  the  sole  of  your  foot,  is  a  very 
insignificant  object,  and  Chimborazo,  thrusting 
its  snow-capped  cliffs  far  beyond  the  region  of 
the  clouds,  is  a  very  sublime  object.  But  the 
one  may  still  be  compared  with  the  other. 
Were  that  molehill  to  shrink  to  the  diminutive- 
ness  of  a  single  atom  of  dust,  and  were  that 
mountain  to  shoot  its  lofty  peaks  up  to  the  orb 
of  the  moon,  there  would  still  be  figures  to  ex- 
press the  enormous  disparity.  And  vast  as  is 
the  interval  between  the  weakest  human  creat- 
ure and  the  mightiest  angel,  between  him  that 
is  but  a  few  removes  from  the  beasts  that 
perish,  and  him  that  enjoys  the  illustrious  dis- 
tinction of  standing  in  the  presence  of  God,  the 
interval  partakes  of  the  finite,  and  it  can  be 
spanned.  But  when  we  attempt  to  ascend  from 
the  creature  to  the  Creator,  all  comparison  is 
ended.  Here  we  are  dumb.  Here  it  well  be- 
comes us  to  be  dumb.  And  it  is  here  that  the 
voice  of  the  Infinite  Majesty  is  heard  out  of  the 
invisible  glory  to  command  :  "Be  still  and  know 
that  I  am  God.  Be  done,  ye  worms  of  the  dust, 
with  your  foolish  comparisons  and  foolish  rea- 
sonings.     Presume  not  to  judge  me  by  your- 


no  GOD   INCOMPREHENSIBLE. 

selves.  My  judgments  are  deptlis,  where  your 
feeble  powers  are  utterly  bewildered  and  con- 
founded. My  ways  your  weak  understandings 
cannot  possibly  comprehend.  They  are  now, 
and  I  mean  that  they  shall  forever  be,  past  find- 
ing out.  To  my  creatures  I  render  no  account 
of  my  acts.  I  condescend  to  no  explanation  of 
the  reasons  for  doing  what  I  do.  The  hearts  of 
all  men  are  in  my  hand,  and  I  turn  them  as  the 
rivers  of  water  are  turned.  I  make  peace  and 
I  make  war.  I  make  light  and  create  darkness. 
The  wrath  and  wickedness  of  man  I  make  to 
praise  me,  the  remainder  I  restrain.  I  do  ac- 
cording to  all  my  pleasure  not  only  among  the 
obedient  armies  of  heaven,  but  also  among  the 
rebellious  children  of  men.  I  chose  my  people, 
in  Christ  my  Son,  before  the  foundation  of  the 
world,  predestinating  them  to  the  adoption  of 
children  according  to  the  good  pleasure  of  my 
will.  I  have  mercy  on  whom  I  will  have  mercy, 
and  I  harden  whom  I  will  harden.  Let  no  one 
presume  to  demand  of  me,  then,  why  I  find  fault, 
on  the  audacious  plea  that  men,  in  fulfilling  my 
decrees,  are  not  resisting  my  will.  Let  the  race 
of  Adam  understand  that  I  am  the  Lord,  and 
that  though  I  give  no  account  of  my  ways, 
though   my  thoughts  are   not   and   cannot   be 


DR.  FOSTER'S   OBJECTIONS.  Ill 

their  thoughts,  and  my  ways  are  not  their  ways, 
justice  and  righteousness  are  ever  the  habitation 
of  my  throne." 

Let  us  now,  in  conclusion,  listen  and  hear 
what  the  Rev.  Dr.  Foster  has  to  say  to  all  this. 
"And,  first,"  says  the  doctor,  "I  object,  it 
renders  the  conclusion  inevitable  that  God  is 
the  Author  of  sin.  I  object  to  the  doctrine  of 
decrees,  because  it  destroys  the  accountability 
of  man.  I  object  further,  if  this  doctrine  be 
true,  at  the  final  judgment  the  conscience  and 
intelligence  of  the  universe  will  and  must  be  on 
the  side  of  the  condemned.  Heaven  and  hell 
would  equally  revolt  at  it,  and  all  rational 
beings  would  conspire  to  execrate  the  Almighty 
Monster  capable  of  such  a  procedure.  Hell 
would  be  a  refuge  from  such  a  Being  !"  This 
is  plain,  straightforward,  outspoken  Arminian- 
ism,  set  forth  by  a  plain,  straightforward,  out- 
spoken man. 

John  Smith. 


172   THE  HARDENING  OP  PHARAOH'S  HEART. 


LETTER    XXXII. 

Dear  Brother: — 

**  God  hardened  Pharaoh's  heart."  "  Pharaoh's 
heart  was  hardened."  "Pharaoh  hardened  his 
heart."  Moses,  writing  by  inspiration,  employs 
these  three  expressions,  and  it  evidently  makes 
no  difference  to  him  which  one  he  employs  in  the 
sacred  narrative.  The  first  ascribes  the  harden- 
ing to  God.  The  third  ascribes  it  to  Pharaoh. 
The  second  ascribes  it  either  to  Pharaoh  or  to 
God.  Now  how  is  this  to  be  accounted  for? 
Had  the  inspired  penman  been  an  Arminian, 
would  the  obnoxious  sentiment,  God  hardened 
Pharaoh's  heart,  be  found  in  the  book  of  Genesis 
or  in  any  other  book  in  the  Bible  ?  I  think  not. 
How  could  an  honest  Arminian  write  such  a 
sentence  ?  The  whole  difficulty  in  the  case  is 
easily  solved  if  we  can  only  make  up  our  minds 
to  trust  the  infinite  wisdom  and  the  infinite  power 
of  Jehovah.  God  determined  to  harden  Pha- 
raoh's heart,  and  Pharaoh's  heart  was  hardened. 
How  this  was  done  is  not  explained,  and  it  is 
clearly  not  given  to  us  to  know.     We  ought, 


RIGHT,  SO   FAR   AS   GOD   WAS   CONCERNED.       ITS 

therefore,  to  be  willing  to  leave  the  mystery  just 
where  we  find  it,  unsolved  and  unsolvable. 

The  hardening  of  the  Egyptian  monarch's 
heart  was  in  one  important  sense  God's  act,  and 
in  another  important  sense  Pharaoh's  act.  The 
act,  so  far  as  God  was  concerned,  was  perfectly 
right ;  the  act,  so  far  as  Pharaoh  was  concerned, 
involved  enormous  guilt. 

It  involved  enormous  guilt  because  it  was 
Pharaoh's  own  act.  He,  like  every  other  human 
being,  was  a  free  agent.  He  chose  his  part. 
He  refused  to  obey.  He  resisted  the  divine 
mandates.  He  set  up  the  standard  of  open  re- 
bellion. He  defied  the  Omnipotent.  He  was 
brought  to  condign  punishment.  Had  he  not 
been  guilty  in  the  true  and  genuine  sense  of  the 
term,  he  would  not  have  been  set  up  as  a  monu- 
ment to  all  generations  at  once  of  the  amazing 
patience  and  of  the  fierce  wrath  of  Almighty 
God. 

The  act,  so  far  as  it  related  to  God,  was  per- 
fectly right.  Right,  not  only  because  He  is  ac- 
countable to  none  and  can  do  what  He  pleases, 
but  because  it  was  right  in  itself.  All  the  world 
acknowledges  the  right  in  God  to  do  things, 
which,  if  done  by  us,  would  justly  be  stigma- 
tized as  fearful  crimes.  He  blasts  men's  hopes, 
16 


174  WRONG,  SO    FAR   AS 

cuts  off  their  crops,  destroys  their  goods,  af- 
flicts their  households,  burns  up  their  dwellings, 
strikes  down  their  children,  sends  war  and  pes- 
tilence and  famine,  with  all  their  dreadful  train 
of  woes,  and  nobody  presumes  to  call  in  ques- 
tion the  Divine  goodness  or  justice.  Nor,  as 
I  said,  is  it  right  merely  because  He  has  the 
power  to  do  all  these  things  unhindered.  It  is 
a  right  which  everybody  feels  and  acknowledges 
belongs  to  Him.  So  in  the  matter  before  us. 
He  did  what  no  creature  could  have  done  with- 
out deep  guilt.  He  hardened  Pharaoh's  heart. 
Although  it  is  impossible  to  say  how  this  was 
done,  it  was  so  done  as  not  in  anyway  to  impair 
the  freedom  of  that  man's  actions.  Not  only 
before  the  divine  tribunal,  but  before  the  tribu- 
nal of  the  world  and  before  the  tribunal  of  his 
own  conscience,  Pharaoh,  King  of  Egypt,  stood 
condemned. 

But  if  the  principles  laid  down  by  the  teach- 
ers of  Arminian  theology  be  sound,  Pharaoh, 
King  of  Egypt,  was  a  much  injured  man.  Not 
only  did  he  not  do  wrong,  in  the  premises ;  it  was 
impossible  that  he  should  do  wrong,  for  how 
could  he  be  to  blame  if  God  hardened  his  heart  ? 
To  blame  for  what?  For  having  a  hardened 
heart  ?     But  was  it  not  God  that  hardened  his 


PHARAOH    WAS   CONCERNED.  1^5 

heart  ?  '  "And  the  Lord  commanded  Moses  and 
Aaron  to  go  in  to  the  King  of  Egypt  and  de- 
mand that  he  should  let  the  children  of  Israel 
go."  "But  I  will  harden  his  heart  so  that  he  will 
not  let  the  people  go."  The  demand  was  made ; 
it  was  rejected.  "And  Grod  hardened  the  heart 
of  Pharaoh  so  that  he  would  not  hearken  to 
them."  "Accomplished  what  his  Maker  wished 
him  to  do." — I  am  quoting  the  very  language  of 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Foster — "what  it  was  not  only 
impossible  he  should  avoid,  but  what  if  he  had 
avoided  would  have  been  a  breach  of  his  Maker's 
will,  a  damnable  sin."  It  is  true  Dr.  Foster  is 
not  here  speaking  particularly  of  Pharaoh,  but 
of  any  and  every  instance  where  a  person  fulfills 
the  Divine  purpose;  so  that  as  a  matter  of 
course  Pharaoh's  case  is  comprehended  in  the 
general  rule.  "It  is  to  no  purpose,"  continues 
the  author  of  Objections  to  Calvinism,  "that  I 
am  told  that  God  decrees  events,  yet  so  as  there- 
by violence  is  not  offered  to  the  will  of  the  crea- 
ture, because  this  strikes  my  mind  only  in  the 
light  of  a  contradiction."  "Am. I  accountable," 
he  asks  with  indignant  warmth,  "  for  doing  what 
by  decree  I  am  compelled  to  do  ?  Or  is  the 
Author  of  the  decree  responsible?"  In  other 
words,  was  the  King  of  Egypt,  tyrant,  oppressor, 


176  A   SCRIPTURAL   PRAYER. 

persecutor,  defiant  rebel,  accountable  for  his 
daring  wickedness  and  hardness  of  heart,  or 
was  Jehovah  himself,  decreeing  the  hardness  of 
heart,  responsible  ?  To  Dr.  Foster's  mind  it  is 
perfectly  manifest  that  the  Divine  decree  takes 
away  all  moral  qualities  from  human  actions. 
Indeed,  so  clear  is  this  matter,  that  he  does  not 
see  how  it  can  escape  any  one's  observation. 
The  good  doctor  is  even  afraid  that  his  readers 
might  blame  him  for  attempting  any  proof  of 
this ;  all  that  he  has  to  do  is  to  assert  that  it  is 
so.  That  is,  it  is  perfectly  clear  to  Mr.  Foster's 
mind  that  the  whole  guilt  of  hardening  the  heart 
is  to  be  ascribed  not  to  Pharaoh  to  whom  it 
could  not  of  right  belong,  but  to  God  himself 
to  whom  it  must  of  right  belong. 

John  Smith. 


LETTER  XXXIII. 

Dear  Brother: — 

In  the  fourth  chapter  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apos- 
tles we  find  this  statement:  For  of  a  truth, 
against  Thy  holy  child  Jesus  were  gathered  to- 
gether Herod  and  Pontius  Pilate,  with  the  Gen- 


A    SCRIPTURAL   PRAYER.  1T7 

tiles  and  the  people  of  Israel,  to  do  whatsoever 
Thy  hand  and  counsel  determined  before  (liter- 
ally, predestinated)  to  be  done.  The  death  of 
Christ  was  thus  foreordained.  The  circum- 
stances attending  His  death  were  foreordained. 
It  was  foreordained  who  should  be  the  agents 
that  were  to  compass  His  death.  Let  us  pause 
a  moment  and  see  with  what  wonderful -clearness 
these  things  are  set  forth.  It  is  not  Herod  and 
Pontius  Pilate,  with  the  Gentiles  and  Jews,  were 
gathered  together  to  do  what  Thou  foresawest 
that  they  would  do  at  any  rate ;  it  is  not  Herod 
and  Pontius  Pilate,  with  the  Gentiles  and  Jews, 
were  gathered  together  to  do  what  Thou  didst 
not  hinder  them  from  doing,  what  Thou  didst 
merely  permit  them  to  do.  No  ;  but  Herod  and 
Pontius  Pilate,  with  the  Gentiles  and  the  Jews, 
were  gathered  together  to  do  whatsoever,  that 
is  everything  that.  Thy  hand  and  counsel  deter- 
mined before  to  be  done.  In  the  fullness  of  time, 
not  an  hour  sooner  nor  an  hour  later,  the  Saviour 
was  born.  And  in  due  time,  not  an  hour  too 
soon  nor  an  hour  too  late,  the  momentous  catas- 
trophe with  which  was  connected  the  destiny  of 
untold  myriads  took  place.  Christ  died  for  the 
ungodly.  On  more  than  one  occasion  His 
watchful  enemies  had  lain  in  wait  to  take  His 
16* 


118        DR.  FOSTER'S  PRINCIPLES   APPLIED. 

life.  But  in  vain,  for  His  hour  was  not  yet  come. 
At  length  His  hour,  that  eventful  hour  predes- 
tined from  eternity,  was  come,  and  with  it  came 
also  the  actors  in  that  wonderful  scene.  The 
first  act  was  the  betrayal ;  then  came  in  quick 
succession  the  arrest,  the  mock  trial,  the  sen- 
tence of  death,  the  scourging,  the  crucifixion ; 
the  actors,  Judas  Iscariot,  Herod  the  Tetrarch, 
Pontius  Pilate  the  Governor,  the  Roman  soldiers, 
and  a  multitude  of  the  people  of  Israel. 

The  fertile  imagination  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Fos- 
ter has  more  than  once  indulged  itself  in  his 
book,  by  representing  angels  and  men  as  sitting 
in  judgment  and  passing  a  unanimous  sentence 
of  condemnation  on  the  decrees  of  God.  Now 
let  us  for  a  few  moments  suppose  it  within  the 
range  of  things  possible,  that  the  common  Ar- 
minian" sneers  and  flings  at  foreordination  and 
predestination  could  really  find  utterance  in  the 
solemn  day  of  final  account.  Herod  with  con- 
fidence in  his  looks  might  rise  and  say  in  that 
august  presence  :  "  Lord,  Thy  hand  and  counsel 
determined  before  that  I  should  set  in  array,  and 
with  my  men  of  war  mock  Thy  Son.  Was  I  to 
blame  for  this?  Did  I  commit  a  wrong  in 
fulfilling  Thy  purpose  ?  Was  it  in  my  power  to 
frustrate  Thy  designs  ?" 


DR.  FOSTER'S   PRINCIPLES   APPLIED.         1Y9 

Pontius  Pilate  might  with  equal  confidence 
defend  his  course,  and  say:  "It  is  true  I  ar- 
raigned, tried,  and  condemned  Thy  dear  Son; 
but  didst  Thou  not  thyself  decree  that  I  should 
do  this  ?  Or  didst  Thou  not  at  least  decree  that 
this  should  be  done  ?  Did  I  do  more,  did  I  do 
less  than  that  which  Thy  hand  and  counsel  de- 
termined before  to  be  done  ?  Must  not  Thy 
wise  purposes  and  plans  always  be  carried  out  ? 
Would  it  not  have  been  a  sin  had  I  attempted 
to  do  otherwise  ?" 

The  Roman  Gentiles  might  boldly  put  in 
their  plea  in  a  style  not  unlike  the  following  : 
"  We  took  Jesus  and  scourged  Him,  we  platted 
a  crown  of  thorns  and  put  it  on  His  head,  we 
smote  Him  on  the  face  with  the  palms  of  our 
hands,  we  spat  on  Him,  we  pierced  His  hands 
and  His  feet,  we  parted  His  raiment  and  cast 
lots  on  His  vesture.  All  these  things  we  did. 
We  cannot  deny  it.  We  do  not  wish  to  deny 
it.  We  rather  claim  a  reward  for  doing  Thy 
will.  Were  not  the  Scriptures  to  be  fulfilled  ? 
Did  we  not  do  what  Thy  counsel  determined  be- 
fore should  be  done?  Was  it  not  absolutely 
necessary  that  Christ  should  suffer  all  these 
things  ?  Did  not  He  himself  say  that  thus  it 
must  be  ?     Could  it  then  be  otherwise  ?     If  the 


ISO        DR.  FOSTER'S    PRINCIPLES    APPLIED. 

Scriptures  must  be  fulfilled,  if  Thy  purposes 
must  be  accomplished,  are  we  in  any  sense  to 
blame  ?  Do  we  not  rather  merit  the  highest 
praise  and  the  most  substantial  rewards  for 
doing  whatsoever  Thy  hand  and  counsel  deter- 
mined before  to  be  done  ?" 

The  people  of  Israel,  with  Judas  Iscariot  at 
their  head,  might  also  on  their  part  take  courage 
and  set  up  this  formidable  Arminian  plea: 
Christ  was  betrayed  into  the  hands  of  sinners, 
but  was  it  not  expressly  written  that  thus  it 
should  be  done  ?  Could  I  help  it  ?  Judas 
might  ask.  Was  it  not  so  determined  ?  Am  I 
accountable  for  doing  what  by  decree  had  to  be 
done  ?  If  Christ  had  not  been  betrayed,  w^ould 
not  Thy  counsels  have  been  frustrated  ?  And 
would  it  not  be  a  sin  to  frustrate  Thy  purpose  ? 
The  high  priest  might  take  up  a  similar  line  of 
defense.  It  is  true  I  insulted  the  majesty  of  Thy 
Son,  I  refused  to  give  Him  an  impartial  hearing, 
I  did  all  that  was  in  my  power  to  bring  Him  into 
trouble,  and  foolishly  and  without  a  shadow  of 
right  fastened  on  Him  the  charge  of  blasphemy. 
But,  Lord,  was  not  this  in  accordance  with  Thine 
own  decree  ?  Didst  Thou  not  design  that  it 
should  be  so  ?  Does  it  not  stand  recorded  in 
Thy  word  that  we  who  were  engaged  in  this 


DR.  FOSTER'S   PRINCIPLES   APPLIED.         181 

transaction  were  all  gathered  together  to  do 
whatsoever  Thy  hand  and  connsel  determined 
before  to  be  done  ?  Now  we  would  ask,  could 
Thy  counsel  be  set  aside  ?  And  must  we  be 
damned  for  doing  the  very  things  which  Thou 
didst  decree  should  be  done  ? 

The  chief  priests  and  scribes  and  rulers  of  the 
Jews,  firm  in  the  Arminian  opposition  to  the 
Divine  predestination,  might  here  interpose : 
"  We,  the  people  of  Israel,  were  resolved,  right 
or  wrong,  let  come  what  would,  to  secure  the 
conviction  and  the  condemnation  of  Christ. 
But  we  do  not  in  any  sense  regard  ourselves  as 
culpable,  because  we  only  did  that  which  had 
to  be  done,  that  which  Thy  holy  word  expressly 
said  Thy  counsel  determined  before  should  be 
done.  Without  an  atonement  there  would  have 
been  no  salvation.  Had  not  Christ  died  there 
could  have  been  no  atonement.  Is  it  then  not 
manifest  that  we  merit,  not  condemnation,  but 
the  highest  praise  for  bringing  about  such  a  glo- 
rious result  ?  Were  not  we  and  the  Gentiles 
and  Herod  and  Pontius  Pilate  severally  by  our 
acts  accomplishing  Thy  holy  will  ?  Suppose  we 
had  not  been  gathered  together  to  do  whatso- 
ever Thy  hand  and  counsel  determined  before  to 
be  done,  what  would  have  become  of  Thy  coun- 


182      DR.  Foster's  principles  applied. 

sel  and  purpose  ?  What  would  have  become  of 
the  prophecies  which  foretold  these  things  ? 
What  would  have  become  of  the  lost  race  of 
Adam  ?  What  would  have  become  of  Abraham 
and  Isaac  and  Jacob  and  all  the  prophets  and 
holy  men  of  old  who  had  already  been  accepted 
and  received  into  heaven  because  Christ  was  to 
die  for  their  sins  ?" 

Let  us  plead  with  Thee,  0  Lord,  would  it  be 
consistent  with  righteousness  and  justice  to  find 
fault  with  Thy  creatures  for  doing  Thy  will? 
Couldst  Thou  find  it  in  Thine  infinitely  holy  na- 
ture to  condemn  us  for  doing  what  Thou  knowest 
Thy  hand  and  counsel  determined  before  to  be 
done  ?  Thou  couldst  not,  we  know  that  Thou 
couldst  not,  all  heaven  knows  that  Thou  couldst 
not.  But  should  it  be  otherwise,  shouldst  Thou 
really  hold  us  responsible  and  pass  sentence  of 
condemnation  on  us  for  doing  the  acts,  the  very 
acts  which  were  before  determined  and  foreordain- 
ed, we  hesitate  not  to  declare  that  we  should  feel 
constrained  by  a  sense  of  justice  to  ourselves, 
openly  and  boldly  to  enter  our  solemn  protest 
and  to  take  an  appeal  from  Thy  tribunal  to  the 
intelligence  and  conscience  of  the  universe  I 

Now  you  will  perceive,  my  dear  brother,  that 
this  is  exactly  in  the  style  and  manner  of  the 


DR.  Foster's  principles  applied.       183 

Rev.  Dr.  Foster.  His  book  can  furnish  whole 
pages  of  argument  just  as  striking  and  just  as 
cogent,  and  I  may  add,  just  as  sound  as  these, 
and  his  book,  you  will  remember,  is  indorsed  by 
the  highest  authority  in  your  church,  the  Rev. 
Bishop  M.  Simpson  and  the  present  accom- 
plished editor  of  the  Methodist  Quarterly  Re- 
view, But  do  you  not  see,  my  brother,  that  the 
Arraiuian  theory  applied  to  scriptural  examples 
not  only  falters  but  completely  breaks  down  ? 
Undoubtedly  the  Divine  decrees  were,  according 
to  the  eternal  purpose  which  was  purposed  in 
Christ  Jesus,  in  every  minute  particular  carried 
out  and  fulfilled.  But  did  this  exculpate  the  mis- 
creants who  had  joined  in  a  league  to  shed  in- 
nocent blood  ?  Did  this  diminish  the  guilt  of 
their  persistent  malice  and  rage  ?  Does  the 
Bible  take  the  part  of  Judas  and  Herod  and 
Pilate  ?  Does  it  take  sides  with  the  hypocritical 
Jews  and  hardened  Romans  ?  Does  it  excuse 
or  palliate  the  bitter  mockery,  the  howls  of  ven- 
geance, the  buffetings,  the  crown  of  thorns,  the 
spikes  and  the  cross  ?  Do  the  Scriptures  in- 
sinuate that  there  is  unrighteousness  with  God  ? 
Do  the  Scriptures  talk  of  appealing  from  the 
tribunal  of  the  Judge  of  all  the  earth  to  the 
conscience  of  the  universe  ? 

John  Smith. 


184  AN   ARMINIAN   PRAYER 


LETTER   XXXIY. 

Dear  Brother: — 

The  other  evening,  in  the  company  of  a  few 
select  friends,  I  proposed  for  our  instruction 
that  we  should  each  undertake  to  turn  the 
leading  sentiments  of  Arminianism  into  the 
language  of  prayer.  We  made  the  attempt  and 
found  it  to  be  a  failure.  It  could  not  be  done. 
I  have  often  heard  a  good  prayer  offered  by 
Arminians,  but  never  an  Arminian  prayer.  A 
Methodist  invariably  borrows  the  sentiments  of 
his  Calvinistic  brethren  when  he  comes  to  the 
throne  of  the  heavenly  grace.  He  seems  to 
know  as  if  by  instinct  that  his  own  are  not 
suitable.  In  truth,  Arminianism  cannot  be 
worked  up  into  prayer.  It  would  crumble  to 
pieces  in  the  very  attempt.  It  is  only  as  you 
temper  it  with  the  great  truths  of  Calvinism 
that  it  can  be  made  up  into  anything  like 
prayer  proper  to  be  offered  to  the  Divine  Ma- 
jesty. On  your  knees,  you  Arminians  are  all 
very  good  Calvinists,  and  as  long  as  you  remain 
on  your   knees   you  do  virtually    indorse   the 


UTTERLY   IMPRACTICABLE.  185 

principles  and  doctrines  of  the  Westminster 
Confession  of  Faith.  But,  with  strange  incon- 
sistency, the  moment  you  rise  to  your  feet  you 
are  all  Arminians  again.  If  it  could  be  so  con- 
trived that  all  the  pious  Methodists  in  Europe 
and  America  should  for  just  one  whole  day  pre- 
serve the  attitude  of  devotion,  then  for  just  one 
whole  day  would  all  the  pious  Methodists  in 
Europe  and  America  be  good  and  sound  Cal- 
vinists.  What  a  blessed  spectacle,  brother,  this 
would  be  ! 

We  have  thus  decidedly  the  advantage  of 
you.  Our  prayers  and  our  sermons  are  of  the 
same  material.  We  can  convert  the  sentiments 
of  our  sermons  into  the  language  of  prayer; 
we  can  take  our  prayers  and  turn  them  into 
sermons.  This  you  Methodist  preachers  can- 
not do. 

Try,  if  you  have  the  heart  to  do  it,  to  address 
Almighty  God  in  the  language  of  your  senti- 
ments. In  what  follows  I  solemnly  protest  I 
mean  no  irreverence,  it  is  only  Arminianism 
spoken,  not  to  men,  but  to  God.  "  Lord,  Thou 
canst  not  have  mercy  on  whom  Thou  wilt  have 
mercy.  This  would  make  Thee  partial.  Thou 
canst  not  harden  whom  Thou  wilt  harden. 
This  would  make  Thee  unjust.     Thou  canst  not 

n 


186  AN   ARMINIAN   PRAYER 

control  and  guide  the  free  acts  of  Thy  crea- 
tures. This  would  make  them  machines  and 
Thee  often  the  author  of  sin.  All  are  not 
glorified  whom  Thou  didst  justify,  since  some 
who  have  been  justified  fall  from  grace  and  are 
finally  lost.  All  are  not  justified  whom  Thou 
didst  call,  for  many  are  called  who  refuse  to 
come.  Moreover,  whom  Thou  didst  call  Thou 
didst  not  predestinate.  None  are  predestinated. 
Thou  art  not  strictly  bound  to  bestow  grace  on 
fallen  sinners;  but,  Lord,  it  is  certain  that  if 
Thou  didst  not  bestow  grace,  sinners  would  not 
be  accountable  for  their  deeds.  If  Thou 
shouldst  withhold  grace  from  any  man,  of  that 
man  Thou  couldst  not  require  repentance  and 
faith,  and  shouldst  Thou  undertake  to  bring 
such  a  person  to  punishment,  the  conscience  of 
the  universe  would  be  against  Thee  and  on  the 
side  of  the  condemned.  Thou  couldst  not  in 
righteousness  permife  men  to  come  into  the 
world  with  such  natures  as  they  have,  hadst 
Thou  not  made  compensation  for  the  wrong  in- 
flicted on  the  human  family.  Thou  didst  make 
ample  compensation  in  the  gift  of  Thy  dear 
Son,  and  no  man  can  now  justly  find  fault  with 
the  arrangement  whereby  we  are  born  with  na- 
tures depraved  and  corrupt." 


UTTERLY   IMPRACTICABLE.  187 

This'  is  Arminianism  of  the  purest  kind,  but 
I  am  confident  in  the  assertion,  that  no  Ar- 
minian,  alive  or  dead,  in  any  of  the  four  quar- 
ters of  the  globe,  has  ever  ventured  in  any 
tongue  spoken  by  man  to  address  God  in  such 
a  style. 

Between  the  Methodists  and  Roman  Catholics 
there  is  indeed  a  wide  distance.  It  is  the  gulf 
between  Protestantism  and  Popery,  between 
mental  freedom  and  mental  bondage.  On  one 
point,  however,  they  are  not  so  far  apart. 
They  are  both  given  to  praying  in  a  foreign 
tongue — the  one  literally,  the  other  metaphori- 
cally. The  Romanist  delivers  a  discourse  in 
English,  French,  or  German,  as  the  case  may  be, 
and  says  his  prayers  in  Latin.  The  Methodist 
preaches  the  doctrines  of  Arminius  and  prays 
in  the  language  of  Calvinism.  Neither  the  one 
nor  the  other  is  ever  known  to  pray  publicly  in 
his  own  properjongue;  tffe  Papist  will  not,  the 
Arminian  cannot.  Brother,  if  I  belonged  to 
a  denomination  which  could  not  pray  in  the 
language  of  its  own  sentiments ;  if  every  time  I 
was  about  to  enter  into  my  closet  or  into  my  pul- 
pit I  had  to  leave  my  own  creed  outside  the  door 
and  had  to  borrow  my  neighbor's  creed  for  the 
purposes  of  devotion,  I  say  if  I  belonged  to  a 


188         ARMINIAN   PRAYER   IMPRACTICABLE. 

sect  that  lived  thus  on  borrowed  capital,  I  think 
that  I  should  dissolve  mj  ecclesiastical  relations 
on  short  notice,  and  cast  in  my  lot  with  those  who 
can  preach  as  they  pray  and  can  pray  as  they 
preach. 

John  Smith. 


THE     END. 


